FateKaleid Liner:The Shirou(Illya's brother) route
by Maxmillian Pendragon
Summary: We all know how Illya's brother from Fate/Kaleid has no knowledge whatsoever about the existence of magecraft and magi. What if a certain incident causes him to get involved with the world of Magi and magecraft? Enter the Shirou route of Fate/Kaleid! Note:The plot takes place side by side with canon up until the convergence.
1. Chapter 1

**Arc 01:Battle against the immortals  
Chapter 1:Meeting the Barthemeloi of the Clock Tower**

 **Disclaimer:I don't own any of the characters from Nasuverse(Tsukime,Fate/Stay night,Fate/Kaleid Liner etc. ). If I did,Illya would have been the fourth heroine.**

Shirou Emiya is one of the most ordinary human beings in the planet,that's what atleast he,Shirou,believed. While it is true that he doesn't have any memories of his life before the age of seven due to a massive accident,he doesn't feel bothered by it too much. Why you ask? Because that accident which caused him to lose his memories were the reason he was able to meet his adoptive parents Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel von Einzbern. Finding Shirou almost half dead from the accident and with no prior memories of life,they had adopted him as their son and gifted him with a family. This gift,known as family,also included his beautiful,white haired sister-Illyasviel von Einzbern-a 13 year old in her final year of Elementary school and the two care-takers of the Emiya-Einzbern household(and probably Illya and Shirou's pseudo aunts/older sisters) Sella and Leysritt. Despite not being related by blood,the love he received from his new family was immense. Sometimes,he likes to think that they probably love him more than his orginal family ever did.  
Kiritsugu,quite,softspoken and maybe a bit cold at times,was a father who would give Shirou the paternal love any father would give his son. Going fishing with him,fixing the car in the garage and having your usual father-son bonding time. Sure Kiritsugu was always awkward when he did those-but to Shirou the thought is what counts.  
He found a mischievous mother in Irisviel,who would prank him and make fun of him every chance she would get but would give him an over abundance love maybe sometimes even more so than what she gave her real daughter. She would tease him about the girls in his class,make fun of his naivette and dense attitude but would comfort him whenever he was depressed. When he was first adopted into the family ,when he was devoid of his past memories-he couldn't sleep at night-a feeling of despair would sweep over him every time he closed his eyes. The one who would comfort him during those nights was his adoptive mother,Irisviel. She would sleep by his side and sing lullabies to him,lulling Shirou to sleep. Depsite how much of a tease she was,Irisviel's presence In his life was something Shirou considered to be his biggest blessing.  
Contender to Irisviel as his biggest blessing in life was his beautiful adoptive sister Illyasviel. Illya,for short,she was a bundle of joy-always smiling and jolly. She was naïve just as he was and would make a fool out of herself one too many times. However,she was kind and compassionate and would cheer Shirou up with her very presence. She was Shirou's pride and joy and even though she doesn't know it-his first friend. After he lost his family and was adopted by the Emiya-Einzbern household,he was always lonely. Despite Kiritsugu and Irisviel's support,they still had their jobs to one who would alleviate Shirou of his loneliness during those times was always a three year old Illya. Asking him to play with her,asking him to help her study,asking him to make food for her,she would remove Shirou's loneliness just like that. She would make mistakes and get flustered easily but Shirou knew Illya was a person he could always rely on and he would be a person Illya could rely on as well. That was how much he cherished her. Illya was probably the main driving force behind the man known as Emiya Shirou we see today.  
Sella and Leysritt. They were his mother's relatives who would take care of Shirou and Illya whenever Kiritsugu and Irisviel were out for work. Eventually,they would move in with them. Sella,the older of the two,was like a older sister to Shirou. Sure she was really strict with him-asking him to act like the oldest son of the household and not take her jobs from her,she would always give Shirou(which she will never admit). Shirou would sometimes even go to Sella for advice. While her advices weren't all that good but the fact that she was willing to spent hours on thinking up the right kind of advice to give Shirou was something he really found touching. She also helped him study,always saying how it was troublesome but doing it nonetheless. Despite her hard exterior and her constant misgivings and minunderstanding of his and Illya's relationship,she was family to Shirou as much as Illya.  
Leysritt,Sella's younger sister and his mother's partner in crime in teasing Shirou. Although she too was supposed to take care of the house in absence of the family patriarch-matriarch,all Leysritt did was lounge around,eat and watch TV. Well and tease Illya and Shirou whenever she would get the chance. From teasing them about their close relationship as siblings to just bullying Shirou,she was a very mischievous middle sister of sorts. While Shirou wasn't as close to her as his other family members in terms of emotional closure and all,because Leysritte was hopeless at emotions and stuff,they were close in a different way which always involved Sella and Illya's wrath. Well,Leysritt would always coincidentally end up naked on top of Shirou and somehow everyone would end up witnessing it which often led upto Sella and Illya fuming,Irisviel taking snaps and Kiritsugu just holding the bridge of his nose dejectedly. While troubled by her antics,Leysritt was important to Shirou and Shirou is grateful to her for her weird antics that keeps everyone up and about.

All of them were his family. Albeit somewhat crazy,he liked to believe his family life was relatively ordinary. Spending everyday with his family,going to an ordinary school,having ordinary friends-enjoying his youth just as an ordinary highschooler would-this was Shirou's life.

Imagine his surprise,when his seemingly normal life had been turned upside down when he ended up trapped in a barrier of sorts as two individuals fought eachother with fists,weird lights and super powers.

The individuals in question were a girl just about his age,maybe a year or two older than him and a man seemingly in his mid twenties.  
The girl looked like a foreigner-her skin was pale white. Her hair was a dark shade of brown and so were her irises. She wore a cream coloured overcoat with a red bow tie. She wore long boots that reached about her kneews. One of her hand bore a gauntlet while the other hand was holding a baton of sorts or was it a tonfa?  
She looked injured. Cuts all over her body,her clothes torn at someplaces. There was also a massive cut along her left shoulder. It was deep,Shirou could tell with the amount of blood coming out. She was panting really hard however she relentless launched her attacks at the man infront of her.

The man was a handsome man. Tanned skin with brown hair with a cowboy hat. He was wearing the traditional cow-boy gear with a pistol in both hands. Shirou would've mistaken him for some cosplayer who loved the wild west if not for the fact that he was shooting real bullets at the younger girl.

 _W-what the hell is going on here?!_

Shirou's mind was finding it difficult to register this surreal scene in his head.

"Maa.. maa.. little girl,"The man started,his voice lazy and disinterested. "No need to be so violent. I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding."  
The girl scowled at the man.  
"Shut up Vampire. I do not require your input on this matter. The fact that you're a vampire and one of the dead apostle ancesters warrants your death at my hands. "The girl seethed in rage.  
The man sighed dejectedly. He looked at her with a look that says "Are you stupid or what?"

"That's why I don't like you nobles from the Mages Association. You guys are so stubborn,"The man complained. "Come on. Cut me some slack. I may be a vampire but I haven't done anything vampire like in a looonnnggg tiimmmeeeee. "  
"Silence. Do not try to fool me. I know what you've done. And even in the unlikiest case that you are innocent,you are still a vampire. I shall exterminate you regardless. "The girl stated confidently. She readied her gauntlet and took a fighting stance.  
"Geez now you're talking like a member of the church,"the man whined.  
Shirou's could only stare,unable to follow their conversation.

 _Vampires?Mages?Church?What are the talking about?Is this a shooting of some film?But I don't see anyone here… besides the blood looks really realistic.  
_ "Well… "The man readied his gun. "Don't say I didn't warn you girlie."  
The girl charged at the man and thrust her gauntlet at him.  
"I'm no girlie!I am Barthomeloi Lorelei,the heir to the prestigious Barthomeloi family. "The girl declared. Her gauntlet was right infront of the man.  
Shirou was sure that the gauntlet would hit him in the face and leave the poor man a bloody mess. However,to his and the girl called Lorelei's surprise,the gauntlet completely missed the man.

 _No.  
_ Shirou realized it.  
 _He dodged it the instant it was about to him._  
The man was now just standing beside Lorelei,his gun aimed at her.  
"Hmm…Barthomeloi huh?"The man nodded,as if he understood something. "Now it make sense why you want to kill me but. . . . "  
The man smirked devilishly.  
"I'm pretty strong so don't blame me if you die missy."  
Lorelei's eyes widened in surprise at the man's sudden presence beside her. Before she could move her body by even a millimeter,a blast of darkness engulfed her completely.

 **"** **Schwarze Zerstörung"  
** As soon as the words left his mouth,the blast of darkness was shot from the gun directly at Lorelei sending her to the ground with a massive explosion.  
Shirou looked at the small crater at the direction of the attack. The girl was in the middle of it,blood dripping from the numerous cuts all over her body. Her breathing was ragged,her eyes were blank. She was possibly unconscious.

Shirou desperately wanted to go and help her. But he couldn't move. He was stuck in his place. Fear devouring him and his very soul,rooting him to the ground.  
The man sighed as he put his gun away.  
"Well that takes care of that. . . " the man muttered under his breath.  
"Oi kid. . . "  
Shirou froze. The man had seen him. He noticed he was there,watching them. He started sweating heavily. He'll probably kill him just like he killed the girl before. The fear of his impeding death making him stand motionlessly.  
"You don't have to be on your guard. I won't hurt you. Why don't you go help her?You want to don't you?"The man smiled and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.  
Shirou gulped nervously.  
 _What was that about?  
_ Well he wasn't complaining. At least he didn't kill him. He was satisfied with that.  
 _More importantly. . . .  
_ Shirou looked at the girl lying unconscious in the middle of the crater. He walked towards her and bent down to look at her wounds.  
"The wounds. . . are quite deep. . . I need to get them treated. But where should I take her?The hospital won't do. They'll ask too many case if I took her to my house. "He muttered to himself.  
Ah that's right.  
He remembered.  
The ideal place to take her.  
 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
** Lorelei Barthomeloi was a proud individual. Being born to the the noble and great Barthomeloi family,she considered herself special. She was special rather. She was gifted with magic circuits that were the best in the world in terms of both quality and quantity. Her noble birth also made her very talented at magecraft. From a very early age,she excelled at magecraft and as such was hailed as a genius. Her potential for thaumaturgy was so great that she was compared with legends like Touko and Aoko Aozaki. As she grew,she became better and better at mage craft. Graduating from Atlast academy at a tender age of just 12,she became the youngest to ever do so. Dedicating herself to the Barthomeloi's at the clocktower,she spent her days as a magus busy in research and directing the clock tower as the aristocrats of the tower. She was the pride of the Barthomeloi,their "to-be-head" and is also rumoured to be the next **Wizard Marshall** ,a title held by the one and the only Kishur Zeltrech Shweinorg.

Being a Barthomeloi herselg,Lorelei just like the others of her family was extremely prideful,took pride in their aristocracy and just like the others had an irrational hatred towards vampire. Lorelei's hatred however was even more intense than her relatives. She,herself, didn't know why she hated vampires as much as she does but she admits to the fact that hunting vampire is quite a pleasurable hobby.

However,this time it wasn't out of irrational fear. This time it wasn't because she found it pleasurable. This time it wasn't because she was just bored. This time it was for vengence.  
She swore vengence on her dead brother's grave that she would avenge him by slaughtering the man who murdered him.  
The man known as Stanrobe Calhin,a vampire and one of the dead apostle ancestors.

She felt ashamed that she was completely outclassed by him. She knew he was powerful but she was Lorelei Barthomeloi. She believed she could take him down single handedly. That was her mistake. Her rage filled mind clouded her when she would fight ancestor level opponents she would take her subordinates. As strong as she was,an ancestor level vampire was a force to be reckoned with. Even the weakest one,the sword of Akasha was quite formidable. Against one as powerful as Calhin,one would require an army and if that one was Lorelei she would require a team of specialist.  
Yet her clouded judgement forced her to go alone and end up getting manhandled by the man. He wasn't even being serious with her.

She wanted to kill herself. Her foolishness had brought shame to the Barthomelois. She can not show her face infront of her family until she brings back Calhin's head.  
That's right. She needed to recollect herself and go after Calhin once more.  
With that in mind she opened her eyes,waking up from a deep slumber.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
** Lorelei opened her eyes to be greeted by a wooden roof. She got herself up from bed. She winced as the pains from her previous battles started acting up . She looked at the place where she was. She was in a small room which in her view was that of a peasant. There was a small bed side table and a lamp on it. This small room made her feel nauseous. To think a member of the Barthomeloi had to stay in such a filthy room,it seems she had brought down the name of Barthomeloi down even deeper.  
However,there was an important question in her mind that needed an answer.  
 _Who brought me here?  
_ She tried to get up from the bed and find out the answers to her question. Tha sudden movements of her limbs cause her wounds to pain once again as she fell on the bed.  
"Don't try to get up. You're wounds are still fresh. Lay down and rest. "  
She heard a voice from the door. She turned her head to the source of the voice. There was a male about 16-17 years of age,red haired and golden eyed standing infront of the door. He was carrying a tray with what looked like food on it.  
She tried to get up only to fail. The male took a chair and sat down beside her bed,placing the tray on the near bedside table.  
"When I found you,you were bleeding and unconscious. So I took you here and treated to your wounds .Oh and you don't have to worry. This place is safe. It belongs to my friend Issei. He says I can use it for as long as I need to. " The boy smiled at her.  
For a moment,Lorelei was grateful. As disgusting as it is to be treated by a commoner and despite how nauseating it is to speak with one,she thought of expressing her gratitude since that boy did save her life even though he was just a commoner. She was just about to thank him for treating the wounds of a Barthomeloi(although she believed he should be thankful to even get to treat one) before she realized something. Under the sheets,she was wearing only a t-shirt and her white panties only. These weren't her clothes. . . . someone had to have changed her clothes. The only one that was present was him.

A man had just changed her clothes.  
Probably viewed her naked body.  
Probably oogled it.  
Probably touched the body of the great Barthomeloi Lorelei.  
Her face flushed a bright red. The embarassment making her throat parched. Rage clouding her mind.  
 _I will KILL HIM.  
_ "YOU MONGREL! YOU DARE TRY TO VIOLATE THE BODY OF LORELEI BARTHOMELOI! " She screamed at the boy.  
The sudden outburst had shocked him and he backed away.  
He threw his hands over his head,trying to calm her down.  
"No no!I-I just treated your wounds!Your clothes were derenched in blood so it was hard to clean them. So I had to remove them!I closed my eyes with a blindfold when i changed your clothes!I didn't look or touch anything reallly!"The boy backed away trying to reason with her.  
He really was being honest here. He truly didn't do anything no matter how tempting it was.  
"SILENCE!"Lorelei roared. "I shall castrate you!A mere commener. . . tried to gaze upon my naked flesh. . H-how d-dare you!"She raged.  
She moved her body with such speed that the man couldn't even see her movements. Her hands were on his throats ,ready to squeeze the life out of him.  
"P-please!Don't move like that. You're going to hurt yours-"Before he could even finish the snetence,Lorelei groaned in pain.  
"Guh!"  
She fell on the bed,breathing heavily.  
She knew she was wounded quite severely,but the severity of it was far beyond what she initially thought. At this rate,she was never going to be able to kill that damned vampire.  
"Come on. . "The man tried to reason. "You're hurt. Rest now. If you want to punish me or whatever do it after you're injuries have healed. "The man smiled warmly at him.

For some reason,that warm smile made her face feel hot. She felt her cheeks reddening.  
"Y-you are lucky I'm injuried. Other wise i'd have killed you. "Realising she was at the mercy of this man,she tucked herself inside the bed.  
The man sighed. He finally got her to listen. He took some food from the tray and gave her to eat.  
"Eat this. It'll help you feel better. "  
The idea of eating commoner feed wasn't appealing to Lorelei but the fact that she needed food inorder to recuperate was something she understood. Swallowing her pride,she decided to eat what this commoner had to offer.  
"Do not expect me to thank you for giving commoner feed as food to a Barthomeloi. "She reluctantly took the rice porridge from his hand as she began to slowly eat.  
The man just smiled at her.  
"Oh!I haven't introduced myself!"The man beamed at her.  
"I am Shirou Emiya. It's a pleasure to meet you Lorelei-san. "

Shirou and Lorelei-this was a fateful encounter that would change their lives forever. **  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
Author's note:**

 _ **And cut.  
First Chapter done.  
Honestly,I'm happy with this chapter. It's been a long time since I wrote a fanfic so it feels really great to actually write one.  
So,the plot takes place in the Fate/Kaleid Liner Universe. As the name suggests,this is the Shirou(Illya's brother) route of the story. It'll tell us how Shirou is introduced to the world of magi through Lorelei and how he learns mage craft and all. On one side you have Shirou developing and on the other side you have the likes of Illya,Miyu,Rin and Luvia fighting the class cards. The stories take place side by side and Illya's side of Fate/Kaleid Liner is the same as canon until I decide to converge which will happen at a much later time. That being said I will not write the Illya part since it's the same as canon up until the convergence later on.**_

 _ **As you can see Shirou's backstory is the same as that of Fate/Kaleid Liner just with the addition of the memory loss part and how he got adopted since it hasn't really addressed by the series at all. I plan to make Shirou stronger than his Fate counterparts though his magecraft will be similar to Shirou from Unlimited Blade Works with some additional tidbits here and there. On a side not,Miyu's brother from Fate/kaleid Liner is dead in this fanfiction and the reasons and events behind his death will explained much later on in the story. So this is just a heads up.**_

 _ **For those who don't know,Lorelei and Stanrobe Calhin aren't Ocs but rather characters from Nasuverse. While they belong to the Tsukime franchise,they have been mentioned a lot in Fate/Grandorder and Lorelei even made a cameo appearance in Carnival phantasm. They were mentioned in the Type moon character data books and also in the prelude. If you want to know more about them,just visit type moon wikia and search their names.**_

 _ **I plan to make it a Shirou X Lorelei and Shirou x harem fanfic. What I mean here is,Lorelei will be the main heroine-that is I plan to make her one. However,Shirou will have a harem. Well this is my initial plans however the likelihood of me getting side tracked by action-y stuffs is quite high so I can't say for sure.  
**_ **  
** _ **Read,review and tell me your thoughts on it. I plan to upload a second chapter soon so wait for it!Criticism is accepted so don't hold back on me. I'll appreciate criticism no matter how harsh it is.**_

 **Bonus:  
Character Book:  
Barthomeloi:heir to the Barthomeloi family,a candidate for the title of Wizard Marshall and probably the strongest magus of this generation.  
Age:20  
Speciality:Pure blooded Barthomeloi possessing the highest grade of blue blood noble magic circuits. She possesse numerous magic circuits,more than even some Grands. Posseses a rare set of Mystic eyes.  
Mage-craft:Wind Element Thaumaturgy.**

 **Weapon:Holy Mithril Gauntlet and Riding Crop.**

 **Note:She isn't "Queen of the Clocktower" or Wizard Marshall yet since I plan to make her younger than she originally is.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Arc01:Battle against the immortals  
Chapter02:Thaumaturgy and Magus;Reinforcement and Projection**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Nasuverse(Tsukihime, Fate/Stay night, Fate/Kaleid Liner etc. ). If I did, Illya would have been the fourth heroine.**

Lorelei continued to eat porridge as she listened Shirou explain to her how he ended up seeing her, telling her his version of the battle between Lorelei and the ancestor. He had entered into the bounded field where she and Calhin had been found. She was flustered to hear how he had witness her shameful defeat to Cahlin and how he rescued her from that place after Calhin had left. He had brought her to his friend's spare house and had treated her wounds.

While listening to her defeat at the hands of Cahlin was embarrassing, she got to learn a quite a bit of Shirou from their verbal exchange. She discerned Shirou was utterly naïve and honest to a fault. Normally, when you witness two people fighting using magecraft , as a normal person, the individual would flee. Not stand there, gaze at the two fight and go assist the injured one, tending to her battle wounds. Even more than that, how could he not fear for his life? Of course he had to have been scared for his life. Cahlin was a Dead Apostle Ancestor. His very aura was ominious. Even she, Lorelei Barthomeloi, would shiver at times at the depth of his OD and felt nauseous at his very presence. It should be terrifying for your average human. Yet he stood, waited and went for her aid after she had been defeated. Lorelei discerned Shirou to be naïve yet kind. Very kind in fact. The fact that he went as far as he did to help her made her feel all warm inside- a feeling she didn't like since she was a Barthomeloi and growing feelings of affection for a commoner was something unacceptable.

She had also discerned more information about Shirou from that brief exchange. Shirou wasn't a magus. Or rather he had no knowledge of thaumaturgy. Either that or he was very good at fooling people. Because no normal human being should've been able to enter a bounded field made by her. To enter the domain of Lorelei you needed a minimum of Fes level Prana. Shirou's prana level, as judged by her, was about Brand level and was always leaking out. Yet he didn't show any signs of exhaustion. To have that level of prana you need to be a magus atleast. However, if she thought logically, Shirou would've hid his prana if he really were a magus. An unassociated magus that powerful would be a target for the enforcers. So, she concluded that it was unlikely that Shirou was a magus. But she wanted to confirm for herself just one more time.

"Be honest. Are you really not a magus or a practitioner of thaumaturgy?"She asked the boy.  
The boy looked confused.

"Thaumaturgy?Magus?What's that?"He answered her question with a question of his own.

 _That confirms it._  
Besides, even if there were layers of information about the man before her missing-his eyes-they were so honest,so pure. She found it hard to believe such honest eyes would lie.

"Say. . . " He asked to get her attention. Lorelei turned towards him.  
"What is it?"  
Shirou fidgeted a bit and rubbed the back of his head.  
"Uh. . what are you. . ? And why were you trying to fight that. . . . person? "  
He hesitatingly asked.  
Lorelei sharpened her gaze at him.  
"You have no need to know that. "She sharply replied.

The harshness of her tone made Shirou scared. Shirou deduced that it wouldn't be wise to make her angry. But. . . when she was fighting him her eyes looked like it was in pain. He didn't like that look. He didn't like the look of anyone in pain.

He tried to say something in return, but it seems she realized it. She cut him off with a glare.

Finishing her rice porridge, she put it on the tray on the bedside table. She wiped her lips with a napkin.

"Although you treated a Barthomeloi of noble blood such as I to a shabby place and commoner's food, you treated my injures. I shall send some gratuity over to your house as compensation for your efforts. "  
As Lorelei said this, she started to get up.

"Now, if you'll excuse me I have w- "  
Before Lorelei could finish her sentence, she immediately touched her abdomen in pain.  
"Guh!"  
The injuries from the battle had been too severe. Just moving a bit makes her body scream in pain as if it was being hit all over by a hammer.

Seeing her in so much pain, Shirou immediately stood up to stop her.  
"You're injured! You can't go and fight a monster like that in your state!" He tried to reason with her.  
She glared at him.  
"Silence. You are unrelated to this. You might have treated my wounds but I am Barthomeloi Lorelei and I take orders from none. " She replied, tone laced with venom.

 _What?! I was just trying to help her!_

"What is wrong with you?! Is it so important to go fight that thing even when you know you're going to die? You think you can fight that thing in your state?! " He yelled at her. He just didn't understand. Why was she going so far to fight that guy? Sure he might not know about vampire and magus and all but is it really important to go against a guy like that when you are in such a pathetic state? He had seen the guy. He had felt his strength. The girl didn't stand a chance then and sure as hell didn't have a chance now. She was just going to throw her life away and like hell is he going to let her do that.

"Is that what you call being a magus or whatever? You are injured for God's sake! If you push your body around that much in your state,you'll die! "  
"SHUT UP! "  
The sound of a slap revibrated across the room.  
Shirou stood wide eyed. His hands instinctively moving up to touch the red handprint on his cheeks.

 _She slapped me.  
_ Shirou was at a loss for words.

Lorelei glared at him with pure hatred. How dare he?! Talking as if he knows everything?! He, who isn't even a magus, talking about Lorelei as if he understood her situation?!

"You imbecile! What do you know?! You aren't even a magus. I am Lorelei Barthomeloi, the heir to the proud family of magi, the Barthomeloi! I can not return to my family without the head of Stanrobe Calhin. I cannot tarnish the honor of my family. B-besides. . . "

At the end of her rant,Lorelei's voice broke. Her eyes felt wet. Her heart quievered. She could only mutter.  
". . He killed my beloved brother. "

Shirou felt time stop. So. . . . she had been pursuing the vampire. . because it had killed her brother?

Lorelei wiped her eyes violently. What was wrong with her today? Why was she showing weakness to this man who she just happened to meet? Damn the root .

She stood up from her bed, despite all the pain. She had to go. She needed to find Calhin. It mattered not whether she lived or died. She will kill him. She will avenge her brother. She will regain the honour of the Barthomeloi.

Shirou, on the other hand, felt ashamed of himself. He really shouldn't have shouted at her like that without knowing her situation. Sure, he didn't like the idea of her putting herself in mortal danger to avenge her brother but he wondered what he would do if someone had killed Illya just like the vampire had killed her brother? Would he forget it and move on or would he rush to avenge Illya?

 _I would probably do the same._

Despite that being the case, he couldn't just let her throw away her life like that. He didn't like the idea of someone dying just like that.  
"Please. . . " he requested her. "Don't go like and at least let your wounds heal first. "  
"You still talk to me as if you understand the situation? " She scowled at him. This man was being pretentious and she didn't like it.  
"Besides, if I wait too long he'll go into hiding again. "  
"But. . . " Shirou tried to convince her.

No matter how Shirou looked at it, it was impossible for her to win. He at least understood this. That thing was a monster. A force of nature.  
Ah.  
 _I know what to do.  
_  
"Okay. . . " he started. "I won't stop you. But take me with you. I'll help you fight that thing. " Shirou finished with a resolute look in his eyes.  
"AH?! " Lorelei couldn't help but give a shriek of surprise.  
"What are you talking about?! " She asked, her voice high pitched.  
"You think I, Lorelei Barthomeloi, need the assistance of a commoner? Besides, you do not have the slightest knowledge of thaumaturgy! "

She couldn't believe this man. What was he saying? She had realized he was naïve and reckless from their brief exchange previously but she never thought it was to this extent. He should've understood how big of a monster Calhin was. He, who had no knowledge of magecraft, wanted to fight a vampire. He was crazy. A lunatic.

"I will learn thaumaturgy. I'll learn this magecraft of yours. I'll become a magus and help you fight that thing. " Shirou was determined. He was determined to help this girl infront of him. He would not let her die just like that. If it meant he had to learn magecraft and get involved in dangerous things just to save her, he will.

It was the nature of Shirou Emiya. To save people. That is what Shirou Emiya lived for. Irrespective of time-space, the will to save people existed as the core of the existence known as Shirou Emiya.

"What?!"  
Another uncharacteristic shriek escaped Lorelei's mouth.  
She covered it instantly. This person. . . does he think being a magus is that easy?!

"Do you really think you can just learn mage craft in a day or two? It takes years and years of devotion to learn mage craft. Even a prodigy such as I required 15 years of training to get where I am today. " She told Shirou off. There was a limit to naivety but it seems Shirou Emiya thought other wise.

"How long do you think the vampire will stay out in the open?" Shirou asked her suddenly.  
His sudden question had surprised her but she quickly regained her composure.  
"A week at most. "  
Shirou nodded to himself.  
"Then I'll learn mage craft in a week. " He declared.

"You mock us magi, Emiya Shirou? You mock the efforts of us magi? " She asked him, glaring at him darkly.  
His very statement insulted the efforts of all magi in history. He had denied the very reason for magi just like that.  
Shirou shook his head. His eyes were serious. He looked at her,eyes brimming with determination and his body oozing with confidence.

"I'm not mocking you. I can see how devoted to mage craft you are. I truly respect that even if I don't really get magecraft. But. . . I'm serious. I'll help you. I wont let you die. If not letting you die means mastering thaumaturgy in a week, I'll do exactly that. "

Lorelei widened her eyes in amazement. This man. . . he really was serious. Those determined eyes-honest yet resolute. . . they were real.

"You. . . " She started. "Why are you going so far for me? We have just met today yet you are willing to delve into such danger just to save me? "  
"Yes. "He replied without the least bit of hesitation.

"I. . . I have been saved by people in the past. People without whom I'd have been dead today. Their kindness. . their love. . it made me decide to be a man who will help others. So, I will help you. I will save you. I will not let you die. This is my promise to you, Lorelei Barthomeloi!"  
Shirou thrust his hands out, as if he was making an oath. His golden eyes unwavering stared at Lorelei's brown ones.

Lorelei could feel it. His determination. His desire. His will. He was a lunatic. . . but a one she was willing to respect. Her cheeks felt warm once more. This man. . . he continued to surprise her. From saving her, to taking care of her wounds and now promising to help her fight Calhin- he was full of surprises.

But she could not let an uninvolved man get mixed in with the supernatural. Seeing as nothing happened to work, she decided to use her trump card.  
"I can feel that you're serious. But I'm a Barthomeloi. I do not need the help of a commoner. " She haughtily declared with a smirk on her face.

 _There. You can't help me if I just don't let you._

"Well. . . " Shirou started. Lorelei frowned at his tone. It seemed mischievous almost.  
"I'm sure the great Lorelei Barthomeloi doesn't like to leave debts unpaid right? I treated your wounds right. So you should repay me no? And as compensation I want you to fulfil a request of mine. And my request is simple- to teach me thaumaturgy, effectively making me your pupil and letting me help you in your fight against that vampire ."  
Shirou finished with a smirk.

 _Checkmate._

Lorelei widened her eyes in astonishment at his words. He had just played her at her own game. He had just used her Barthomeloi pride against her. Dammit. She was a person of her words and she would rather die than take her words back. It seemed like she had no choice.

"Very well. . "She sighed, "I shall teach you thaumaturgy and have you help me against Calhin."  
Shirou smiled at her mischieviously. It seemed his smile was contagious. Lorelei's lips curled the slightest as well.

However she quickly changed her demure. Her eyes now more serious and had more authority.

"But let me warn you Shirou Emiya. . . the life of a magus. . . once you enter you cannot leave. You will witness true evil, experience the darkness of the world in your pursuit of thaumaturgy. You will find yourself in danger and might probably end up dead one day. I'll confirm your will for the last time. Do you, Shirou Emiya, wish to learn thaumaturgy and effectively be a magus under the tutelage of I, Lorelei Barthomeloi?" She asked Shirou.

This was his final chance to back he enters the other side of the world,he'll never be able to get out.

"Yes." A simple answer devoid of any hesitation, a simple answer filled with determination. Lorelei had to admit- Shirou Emiya was a unique existence. Never before she had seen a man as impressive as he.

 _This man. . . .for some reason even if it seems impossible I can't help but believe he will truly learn mage craft in seven days._

Smiling to herself, she declared-  
"Well then Shirou- from this day onward I shall teach you thaumaturgy. I expect nothing less of exceptional results and utmost diligence. Do I make myself clear?! "

"YES MAAM! " Shirou comically saluted her. Then he broke out in a fit of laughter.  
"W-what? " Lorelei stuttered a bit at his reaction. She wanted to kill herself for stuttering.

"No no. . . it's just that you look really cute being all serious like that yet smiling at the same time! " He beamed at her, wiping a tear from his eye because of all the laughing.

 _W-w-what is this man s-saying. C-calling me cute like that?! H-how ridiculous.  
_ She turned pink all on a sudden, smoke coming out of her ears. This man. . . this man. . . Shirou Emiya really was annoying!

"SILENCE!" She shouted at him.  
 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Thaumaturgy, the act of achieving what is possible through science via supernatural means by enforcing the magical energy through one's magic circuits into the external world, is the base of mage craft. A magus is a person capable of executing magecraft. While magecraft is done using miracles, the end result is not. It is to be noted that mage craft varies from magic since magic is to use magical energy to manipulate the very laws of the natural world while mage craft is limited within the sphere of science and the physical laws of the world.

The way of invoking magecraft is spellcasting. Words said to oneself, to activate one's magic circuits and invoke miracles. Thaumaturgy invokes miracles which exist or can exist. Although exceptions exist, if anything is created which is outside the realm of reality, it is wiped out by the rule of this world.

Elemental Affinity is one's allignement of magecraft. An elemental affinity dictates what is the elemental nature of spells an individuals can use-whether it's fire, water, earth etc. Then there is Origin. Origin is the precise detail of a magus. A detail so precise that it connects the magus to the root and manifests it in the form of Thaumaturgy.

This was the basic of Mage craft according to Lorelei. Shirou concentrated on everything Lorelei said. Sure they were very hard to grasp but he still tried to ingrain the concepts within himself. She was putting the effort to teach so he had to give equal effort at learning.

Lorelei took a breather after explaining it to Shirou. Although he was slow, his dedication was enough to make up for his intellectual inferiority. Lorelei was satisfied. He might be a naïve idiot but he was a decent student.  
"Now we'll move on to actual mage craft ." She declared.

Hearing this Shirou couldn't contain his excitement.  
"So you're going to teach me that cool wind blast you used? Or maybe that flight thing?! " He excitedly asked his newly appointed instructor.  
"No. We're going to start from the very basics. "

"Eh? " Shirou was confused. Start from the basics? Shouldn't he just skip the basics and learn badass mage craft so that he can fight the vampire?  
It seems Lorelei realized what Shirou was thinking. She decided to clear up his confusion.

"Listen I believe that in order to be strong, you must have absolute mastery over the basics. If your basics are poor, then it doesn't matter how many strong spells you learn you'd lack efficacy. I, myself, have become one of the strongest mages in the world through the practice of the basics. " Lorelei told Shirou.

 _She's a perfectionist I guess.  
_ But Shirou understood where Lorelei was coming from. It's the same as Maths. If your basics suck,you're screwed.

"So what are we going to learn then? " Shirou asked his instructor.  
"Reinforcement and Projection. "  
"Reinforcement? Projection? What's that? "

Reinforcement is one of the most almighty yet basic forms of thaumaturgy. It involves inputting huge amount of prana into one's body to reinforce and strengthen one's skill. It can also be used to enhance the structure and strength of objects, increasing it's durability. Reinforcement, if mastered properly,can also change the shape of an object to some extent. If it fails, then the object starts degrading.

Projection or Gradation of air is to create something out of magical energy mainly out of nothingness or simply air. Since the principle of equivalent exchange isn't followed, anything made from projection isn't long lasting and is erased by gaia due to it's inconsistency. It's considered useless by most modern magi.

Shirou listened to Lorelei's lecture intently.  
 _Hey. . . wait a minute. . .  
_  
"Ah. . . hey. . . aren't these spells. . . " Shirou hesitated to finish. "Completely useless? "  
Lorelei raised an eyebrow at him asking him to continue.  
"Well I get reinforcement since it strengthens one's body and all and also enhances weapons but it's more of a passive skill right? And well projection creates weapons which are volatile right? So even if I reinforce them they'll just disappear! " Shirou explained to her.

"Your point being?" She stood imposingly.  
"Ah. . . well. . . won't I be totally helpless against that Stanrobe Calhin? " He asked suddenly finding Lorelei very terrifying.  
"YOU FOOL!"

SMASH!  
She had hit his head with a paper fan. 

"Sure, for a typical magi it might be useless. But you have outstanding prana reserves. If it's you, your projection should last longer than that of an average Magi. Besides, projection and reinforcement are the only two spells you can learn within seven days. So suck it up and start practicing. " She told him off.

Thus began Shirou's practice of Thaumaturgy.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
** It was 11.30 p.m when he decided to go home. After a rather fruitless practice of reinforcement and projection where he failed to do even the bare minimum, Shirou had decided to head home. He made sure the area was safe and Lorelei even put a bounded field to prevent her from being detected from any probably enemy. When he reached home, he received huge scoldings from Sella and Illya respectively, for being late and a teasing from Irisviel, who had knitted a story of him and a mysterious girlfriend. Escaping from his families attempts at bullying him, he head into his room and turned to the bed to rest a bit.

Now that he understood the concepts of prana and thaumaturgy, he realized that Illya's prana level was unusually high and it was as if Illya used strong mage craft or something. Was Illya connected to the world of Magi?

He shook his head. He was overthinking it. His innocent, kind yet scaredy cat sister won't involve herself with the magi world even if her life depended on it. That's how she was personality wise. Maybe she had unusually high prana reserves just like him? Yea that was probably the case.

His thoughts headed towards the woman known as Lorelei Barthomeloi. She was a strange woman. She was prideful, haughty even and really liked to look down on others. But she had this passion for anything related to mage craft, a passion Shirou doubt he'd ever understand. Despite her haughty attitude and her arongance, she was a sincere individual. She was honest, she was clear with her ideals and took pride in her blood. He also found her quite cute to be honest. She was already very attractive to begin with but her tsundere personality added more to the charm. If it weren't for this vampire business, he might've already fallen for her.

However, her hatred for vampires was something Shirou frowned upon. He didn't know whether vampires were good or evil. Stanrobe Calhin didn't seem like a bad guy. But if what Lorelei says is the truth then Calhin must be evil. Even so, she didn't want Lorelei to be led by her thirst for revenge. She was prideful and strong willed but that darkness inside her. . . if she even let's out a bit would devour her. Shirou understood that very well for some reason he didn't know.

However, it doesn't matter what path Lorelei takes, Shirou had resolved himself to save her. So he wil. He refuses to let someone destroy themselves infront of him. He wants to help everyone, save everyone. He knows it is an impossible wish, a naïve one but he still can't help but aspire.

 _Well if I have time to waste worrying over everything like an old man then I surely must have some time to practice._

He sat down on the floor of his room and started practicing reinforcement. He breathed in and out, rhythmically measuring the flow of his aura and started to distribute it across his body evenly. According to Lorelei, his prana content was massive so it was hard for him to control it properly. He was successfully able to distribute it across his body but only a little amount of prana from his massive reserves.

 _Well that is something to be happy about?_

He spent rest of the night practicing reinforcement on himself and a kitchen knife he stole from the kitchen, escaping Sella's hawk eyes.

After hours of practice, although he was able to even distribute prana to reinforce his body-he still couldn't make even the slightest of reinforcement on the kitchen knife. Every reinforcement ended in a failure resulting in the knife to look like a metal twig.

His magic circuits were very few in number. Therefore,conduction prana was difficult for him given his massive reserves and hence the flow of prana was always unstable. That's what Lorelei had told him.

If only could he increase his magic circuits. . .  
 _Wait maybe if I turn parts of my body into magic circuits. . ._

Yes it seemed like a plan. Shirou closed his eyes and concentrated. He inputted prana this time not only through his magic circuits but also through his nerves and used reinforcement on the nerve. His efforts weren't in vein as the twig had reformed and reinforced into a wonder blade.

Only to explode a couple of seconds later and Shirou to scream in agony over the stress his body was experiencing.

He closed his mouth forcefully. It'd bad if someone hear him and head into the room now. He looked at his hand and shuddered. It was bleeding quite badly.

 _Well. . . that didn't go too well. . ._

He really hopes Lorelei would forgive him for this.  
 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

He had decided to skip school the next day and headed over to Lorelei's place. They only have six days remaining. He had no time to spare. So, after dropping Illya to school Shirou went over to Lorelei's place. He knocked on the door waiting for Lorelei to answer.

"Come in. " He heard her voice.  
Turning the door knob, he entered the house only to find Lorelei doing pushups with her injured body. Shirou ran over to her as fast as he could.

"What are you doing?! " He shrieked.  
Lorelei narrowed her gaze at him.  
"Silence. It's too early for me to hear your screaming. "  
"Ah sorry. " Shirou apologized, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"B-but you're injured! You shouldn't be up and about like that! " He tried to reason with her.  
"I may be wounded but I am Lorelei Barthomeloi. Such menial exercise is one I can do even with my injured body. Besides I will get out of shape if I stay in bed all day, " She curtly replied.

He couldn't argue there. She was right in that regard.  
Lorelei looked at him and asked him to sit down.

"Have you had breakfast? " He asked her.  
"Yes. It seemed you had cooked some breakfast and kept it in the fridge. I heated it up In the morning and had it as breakfast. "  
"I see. "

There was an awkward silence between the two and understandably so.

The two only talked about vampires and thaumaturgy ever since their meeting yesterday so when it was time for an ordinary conversation they had nothing to say.

It seemed Lorelei had enough of the silence. She stood up and hit Shirou on the head with her fist.  
"Oww..what was that for? " Shirou painfully asked, rubbing the area Lorelei had hit.  
"How is your progress? You practiced reinforcement at home right? " She asked narrowing her gaze.

"Well. . . "Shirou chuckled wryly. "About that. . . "

Shirou narrated all of the events of last night to Lorelei. Everything from using his nerves as magic circuits to injuring himself. He showed her his injured arm which he had hit under the sleeve of his flank jacket.  
After the explanation was over, Shirou expected her to get angry or hit him for almost losing his arm but the only reaction he got from her was a nod of understanding.

"Eh? " He was honestly surprised at her reaction. "Aren't you mad?"  
"No. It was stupid but in the path of thaumaturgy magi divulge themselves in lots of dangerous and risky ventures. So, although what you did was stupid but nothing no magus hasn't ever tried. " She replied.

 _Phewww. . . I thought she'd kill me._

"Besides. . ." She continued. "I have found the reason behind your failure to utilize reinforcement. "

 _She found out the reason?!_

"What is it then? " Shirou asked eagerly. This will help him learn reinforcement properly so he couldn't help but be excited.  
"Simple. You tried to individually control each magic circuit in your body. While it is not a problem in and of itself, given the amount of prana you have and that commoner intellect of yours, it is difficult for you to judge and manipulate the prana flow in each circuit. " She answered. A smirk of satisfaction had plastered itself on her lips. It seemed she was pleased with herself.

Now that she mentioned it, he actually does that. But he couldn't shake of the feeling that she called him stupid just now.  
 _If only she was nicer. . ._ He internally sighed.

"So. . ." Shirou asked. "How do I solve it? "  
"I'll teach you another spell. "  
"Eh? Really? "  
"Yes. It is called **Thought Acceleration.** "

Thought Accelration is a part of Alchemic mage craft. It allows the user to think faster and complete mastery over it allows to create multi expansion diagram.

Lorelei finished her explanation. Shirou nodded to himself. The explanation seemed easy enough. If he could think faster, it'll become easy for him to manipulate prana in each circuit.

"This will help you for now. . . " Lorelei told him. "But you'd ought to learn to instinctively use prana instead of manual manipulation. "  
Shirou nodded.  
Lorelei looked at Shirou, his eyes once again brimming with determination.

He might be a child but that determination of him isn't so bad. She unknowingly smiled to herself.

Wait that was wrong?! Why was she, Lorelei Barthomeloi, smirking to herself inside her mind at the thought of a commoner teenager?! And he was a child for Zeltrech's sake?!

 _It's all that damned vampires fault. If only he'd let me beat him. . ._

Now she had another reason to exterminate that vampire.

She coughed a bit to grab Shirou's attention.  
"Now. . . " She activated her instructor mode. "Start practicing. Everytime you fail, I'll hit you head with my fist. "

Later that day, Shirou's head was covered in bruises.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Interlude01:Irisviel thoughts**  
Ever since Shirou returned home, Irisviel had noticed the change in her baby boy. He looked more serious, more composed and a lot more determined that he usually was.

 _Did something happen?_

She didn't know what could possibly happen that could than one's attitude in such a short time.

But that wasn't the main reason she was worried. No. Irisviel could feel that Shirou was surpressing his prana. Even when she went to bed, she could feel it from her room-his continuous release and surpression of his own prana.

 _I guess he probably found about mage craft and magi._

Irisviel sighed. She had hoped to keep her children away from the world of magi but it seemed her efforts have failed. Somehow or the other Shirou got entangled with thaumaturgy. Although she wasn't completely sure, it was very likely. She would've talked to him about it but if her guess had been wrong then she herself would end up being the one to involve him in this dangerous world of theirs.

She sighed once more.

 _I hope Kiritsugu comes home soon._

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Interlude02:Lorelei's bedroom thoughts**

Lorelei had found Shirou quite different than any other man she had ever met. He was the kindest, the most naïve and probably the most determined individual she had ever met in her life. He was stupid but he was perceptive as well. His talent for magecraft were sub par but his determination made up for it.

He was a special man.

And probably the only man to ever make her feel so warm inside.

Lorelei was always strong. So she never needed help. Nobody would help her since the understood that Lorelei Barthomeloi was strong. But there was this man Shirou Emiya. He risked his life for her, a complete stranger; treated to her injuries; now he was willing to fight with her in a battle where victory was uncertain and death was a very realistic outcome.

He felt fear but overcame it with his willpower.

He was truly special.

Shirou Emiya.  
Shirou Emiya.  
Shirou Emiya.

Every time she would say his name in her head she would feel warm. Her heart would beat faster. Her face felt flushed.  
She shook herself out of her thoughts.

She wasn't supposed to feel this way. She was the proud Lorelei Barthomeloi! This wasn't how a Barthomeloi acted. . . however Shirou Emiya made her act that way. He was a man full of surprises who made her feel for him in a way she never thought she'd ever feel for a man, much less a commoner.

But in all honestly, she didn't particularly dislike the feeling.

 _Shirou Emiya. . ._ she sighed to herself once more.

Seriously what's with her acting like a teenager in her early teens?!

Emiya. . .

Now that she thought about it, the name Emiya seemed very familiar. She had heard it many times in her life but for some reason she couldn't remember.

"Emiya. . . where have I heard that name? "

Deciding that it was getting a bit too late for her musings and she also had to train Shirou in the morning, Lorelei turned off her bedside lamp and entered a blissful slumber.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
** _ **And cut.  
Second chapter all done.**_

 _ **Honestly, I'm surprised that I was able to reach 5K words. I thought I'd run out of gas before I even managed 3K. But I had fun writing this chapter. A bit of a theoretical approach to thaumaturgy and mage craft- it was fun writing the details of reinforcement, projection and thought thaumaturgy in general.**_

 _ **About Shirou's magic circuits, although it was said in the series how he used his body as a makeshift magic circuit and how it was injurious to him, I never understood why he never used his own circuits at the start. I mean surely isn't it easier to use your own magic circuits than your goddamned nerve. Sure they cleared it at the end saying, he learnt to open his magic circuits later but I didn't find it convincing really because I never got the reason why he couldn't open it in the first place .So I decided to make my own reasonings and all.**_

 _ **This approach also allowed me to add thought acceleration to his arsenal. I had planned to give him other forms of alchemic mage craft but I thought it would suit him better given he had to trace and make the blueprints of different weapons anyway so having such a spell at his arsenal should give him better efficacy.**_

 _ **I also explored a bit of Lorelei's feelings regarding Shirou in the interludes. As you can see, Lorelei has started feeling something for Shirou. A crush of sorts. It's not romantic perse but it's getting there! About Shirou's feelings towards Lorelei as of now, it's mostly respect and admiration. Maybe it'll change over time? Who knows? You'll have to read to find out.**_

 _ **Yes, Irisviel found out he's practicing mage craft. I mean how could she not? She's a homunculus after all. She can feel Shirou using prana like crazy lol. I think you guys also noticed certain hints regarding Illya using mage craft- yes you've guessed it right. At this point she's fighting the classcards with Miyu and the rest.**_

 _ **There were also questions in the reviews regarding how Lorelei should recognize the name Emiya. It's not that she doesn't know it. As you can see,it just slipped her mind amidst all the chaos.**_

 _ **By the way Kuro is appearing in the next chapter! HURRAH TO LOLI ILLYA TANNED VERSION!**_

 _ **And thank you for reading and reviewing. The reviews really have been really helpful. So please don't hesitate and continue reviewing!**_

 **Bonus:  
Calhin:  
Species:Twenty seven dead apostle ancestors(Rank 11)  
Specialities:Power of destruction,other vampire abilities  
Spells/Mage-craft:** **Schwarze Zerstörung(Black Destruction)  
** **Weapons:Guns  
Age:Unknown  
Emiya:  
Species:Human(Magus in training)  
Specialities:Incredible prana reserves  
Spells/Mage-craft:Reinforcement,Thought acceleration and Projection  
Weapons:None  
Age:17  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Arc01:Battle against the Immortals  
Chapter03:Little sister,family and Swords**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Nasuverse(Tsukihime, Fate/Stay night, Fate/Kaleid Liner etc. ). If I did, Illya would have been the fourth heroine.**

Shirou's advancement in Thaumaturgy after he learned **Thought Acceleration** was quite noteworthy. After getting a decent grasp over the art, he was able to properly employ reinforcement on the entirety of his body. Although it was still difficult to reinforce foreign objects, Lorelei had found another solution to help him. She had told him to use a chant, anything that comes into his mind to visualize the structure of the object in question. He thought over it for quite some time and the chant he conjured up in his mind was **Trace On**. He pictured a bullet being fired from a gun as he uttered the chant. As expected of a suggestion from a master of mage craft like Lorelei, it had worked perfectly. Shirou could easily use reinforcement on objects along with his own body. Not only that, the use of a chant allowed him to analyze the structure of the object as well. A bonus!

Project, however, was quite difficult to learn. Although he could analyze the structure of an object via tracing it was difficult for him to project it into reality. Lorelei had told him that it was because he couldn't form a clear picture of the object in his head and hence even after analyzing the structure it was difficult for him to project an actual object into the world.

For some odd reason, he could project sharp blades like knives better than other three dimensional objects. The reason was something even Lorelei did not now and neither did he obviously.

It had been almost 4 days since he met Lorelei and got entangled into the world of mage craft. These four days had been weird to say the least. Everything started of with him witnessing Lorelei fight Stanrobe Calhin, get injured and him tending to her wounds, deciding to help her fight Calhin by becoming her disciple in thaumaturgy and effectively becoming a magus in training, learning projection and reinforcement. It had been an odd week. But not as odd as what had happened yesterday.

Yesterday, he had suddenly been greeted by a tanned version of Illya, his little sister. They were completely alike, just this one was tanned. At first he had thought it was Illya since they looked pretty much the same. As it was Summer, he had thought she just got herself a fashionable tan. However, the moment the tanned Illya started flirting with him and trying to kiss him, he started to doubt whether she was really his sister Illyasviel.

Sure, Illya had her certain weird idiosyncrasies when it involved Shirou but she was never this direct!

Later that night he came to know that the girl is actually Illya's cousin, her name being Kuro, making her something like a younger sister to him too. While he was caught off guard at first by the sudden appearance of a new younger sister but as she saw how she was enjoying herself with the family, he couldn't help but smile.

True, she was mischievous but her eccentricities and her lively personality made every a lot more fun and Shirou welcomed it whole heartedly.

Although he wished, Kuro would stop teasing him which often led to Sella and Illya finding her straddling him and slapping him on both of his cheeks. Also Illya would also get really mad at him and he had to sit in seiza for hours to get her to forgive him.

But time for fun and games were over. Only three days remained before Lorelei's battle against Calhin so he had to figure out a way to master projection. He wanted to help her, not be a burden.

So, he was thinking of going out. He was going to ask Irisviel to let him stay at his Issei's today. Obviously that would be an excuse. The sudden presence of Kuro made it harder for him to practice in his room as she would suddenly barge in unannounced. Besides, accidents during projections are more dangerous than those during reinforcement.

But before he could ask, Illya and Kuro entered the living room with their friend Miyu following tow. She was the girl who lived with Luvia and was Illya's friend. Although their first meeting was weird with her hugging him all on a sudden but Shirou could tell Miyu was a gentle and good girl. He inwardly would thank her for being Illya's friend.

They were going to have a sleepover today and head over to the beach tomorrow. So, Irisviel had asked him to cook a lavish meal for them and take them to the beach tomorrow. He wanted to decline but he suddenly remembered it was Illya's birthday tomorrow.

"It's Illya's birthday tomorrow huh?" He told his mother.  
"Ara not just Illya's, " She told him with a gentle smile. She looked at the three girls with a loving gaze.  
"It's Kuro and Miyu's birthday as well! " She declared.  
"Ah!"

Honestly, Shirou wanted to skip this time around and go train for his upcoming battle. But. . . he didn't want to disappoint Illya or Kuro for the matter. They must expect him to take them to the beach tomorrow and buy them presents.

 _Ah… as much as I hate to skip training for the day, I just can't neglect my duty as an older brother. Yosh! I'll make it up to Lorelei by training twice as hard later._

The three girls settled in the house, chatting amongst themselves. Irisviel and Leysritte also joining them while Shirou and Sella prepared dinner. Miyu was quite reserved in the beginning but she eventually gave in and started to even initiate conversation. Shirou smiled seeing her attempts at being a bit more social.

"Smiling to yourself as you stare at little girls? How sinful of you Shirou,my son! " Irisviel teased Shirou.  
Shirou choked at the sudden allegation.

"W-what?! Of course not!" Shirou defended himself.

Everyone just laughed at the expense of Shirou who just sighed to except Sella.  
"Touch them and I kill you. "  
"Yes MAAM! "  
Sella was very scary sometimes.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you, Illya? " Sella asked, her worry evident in her face.  
"Sella, we've had this conversation earlier right? " Kuro told her.  
"Don't worry Sella. We'll be fine. " Illya assured her.  
"I'll protect Illya so you don't have to worry. " Miyu added.  
Shirou also nodded to them.

"I'm also going with them so you don't need to worry much. Issei will also be there. He's quite meticulous when it comes to taking care of people or watching over them so they are in capable hands. " Shirou tried to ease Sella's worries.

"Ne ne Onii-chan! " Kuro tried to grab Shirou's attention. "I brought a swimsuit just for you to see! " She chirped happily.  
Shirou could only manage a dry laugh at kuro's antics.  
"W-well. . . I'll be looking forward to it. . . " Shirou awkawardly replied.

"What do you mean you're looking for ward to see your little sister in a swimsuit?! Is that something a brother says?! " An enraged Sella glared at Shirou, looking almost hysterical.  
Shirou, as scared shitless as he was, tried to calm her down.  
"C-calm down Sella. . . I obviously meant as a brother. . . " Shirou tried to explain.

"Ara. . . then what about Miyu-chan's swimsuit? " Irisviel suddenly asked.  
"She isn't your sister then that means you are looking forward to see her swimsuit in a different way?! How romantic?! " Irisviel squealed in delight.

Irisviel's statement had caused Miyu to blush heavily. The fact that Shirou-san might want to see her in a light different from his sisters made her happy for some reason she couldn't put a finger too.  
Shirou just stuttered lamely unable to find a reply.

Illya glared at her brother darkly.  
"Onii-chan seriously don't touch Miyu okay? "

Shirou was about to retort but someone had come to his rescue. Although he couldn't believe it, the one who came to his rescue was Leysritt.

"Shirou has no perverted intentions when it comes to elementary schoolers! " She declared to the rest.

 _Leysritt. . . ._  
Shirou suddenly started to see Leysritt in a new light. Despite all her teasings, she really is a nice person deep down who cares for Shirou.  
Shirou thanked God for the appearance of Leysritt in his life for once.

"Shirou only likes matured curvaceous girls with big boobs like mine! "

It seems like he spoke too soon.

"Ara that means Shirou-kun looks at Okaa-san like that? Kyaa! " Irisviel squealed in delight. "But that's no good Shirou-kun okaa-san likes papa but Shirou-kun liking okaa-san isn't bad too! " Irisviel giggled.

Shirou breathing stopped.  
"Please stop talking Okaa-san. I don't want to kill myself yet. " He plainly stated.

 _STAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~_

Illya, Miyu and Sella stared at him as he was biggest scumbag alive.  
Those stare made him lose his will to live.

 _Just kill me already._

Suddenly, Leysritte when to the kitchen and sat on the kitchen counter right infront of Shirou, crossing her legs and intentionally slipping down her t-shirt a little revealing her smooth skin and a bit of cleavage.

"Shirou gets excited from a body like mine , right Shirou? " Leysritt teased, although you couldn't really tell that from her passive facial expression.

Shirou blushed. His face redder than tomatoes . He stuttured as he fell back on to the floor.

"w-wha. . . W-what are y-ou. . . "He tried to form words but failed miserably.

This situation isn't anything new but even then Leysritt was attractive and that body of hers. . .  
Shirou gulped.

He still was a healthy teenager. Such temptations were bad for his heart.

The other occupants in the room were also quite embarrassed.  
Illya and Miyu looked like they'd die of embarrassment and even Kuro had a dust of pink on her cheeks.  
Irisviel kept quite but even she too had a red hue on her cheeks.

Sella was a bright red tomato.  
A part of it was due to embarrassment.  
The rest of it was due to pure wrath.

"WHY DON'T YOU TWO STOP FLIRTING IN FRONT OF CHILDREN AND GET THE COOKING DONE?! "  
Bam.

That night Shirou had supper with a bump on his head all the while thinking-

 _What sin have I committed to deserve such cruelty?_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Dinner with the family ended up being quite rambunctious. Irisviel and Leysritt continuosly teasing Shirou-Irisviel teasing him about his relationship with the three younger girls, Leysritt teasing him with her usual sultry provocations ; Sella hitting him on the head calling him a perverted lolicon; Kuro flirting with him and Illya pouting at Shirou and complaining how much of a womanizer he is.

Shirou was glad at least Miyu was normal.

However, she was quiet the entire time. Probably she was embarrassed at how she was being shipped with her friend's elder brother.

Shirou thought he would get some well deserved rest before doing the dishes but Kuro had suddenly appeared in a transparent negligee and started flirting with him.

This was probably the first time Kuro's flirting had an effect on him.  
As much as he hated to admit it, for an elementary schooler Kuro was quite beautiful and had a nice figure. He never noticed it previously but that almost see through negligee made kuro look really. . .

 _Hot._

He wanted to kill himself for thinking about an elementary schooler like that.

Illya, however, arrived just in time to take Kuro back to his room and stop Shirou's perverted musings. Sella however probably noticed something or she was being her usual self and hit Shirou on the head admonishing him for being a lolicon.

For the first time, Shirou thought he deserved that.

After helping Sella with the dishes, Shirou had decided to go outside to drink some coffee in the veranda.  
Pouring some coffee in his cup, he went to the veranda. He stared at the beautiful stars adoring the night sky, appreciating their beauty and elegance and sipping coffee as he enjoyed the nighttime breeze.

"'Sup, onii-chan? " Kuro stood behind him.  
"Ah, nothing. Thought of getting some fresh air before I go to bed. "  
"Oh! I want to enjoy some fresh air too! " Kuro stretched her hands as she declared.

Shirou turned towards her,  
"What about Illya and Miyu? Aren't they waiting for you inside?"  
Kuro sighed. Shirou noticed that the sigh was a lonely one.  
"They already fell asleep. " She told him. "I couldn't sleep so I decided to get some air. "

Shirou smiled.  
"Well I'll get you some coffee. " He offered Kuro.

The two siblings/cousins stood in the veranda together as they drank coffee.

"Ne onii-chan, " Kuro started.  
"Hmm? "  
"What kind of person do you want to be when you grow up? "Kuro suddenly asked him.

Shirou turned towards her, looking a bit skeptical.  
"Why ask all on a sudden? "  
"No reason. " She replied. "Just curious. "

"Well, " Shirou began. "I want to be a man who can save everyone. "

"What? "  
Kuro was surprised.

"I want to be a man who can save everyone. A hero of justice who abandons none. " Shirou replied. His eyes brimming with determination and his mouth curled into a confident smile.

Kuro was surprised. In all her life, never had she seen her onii-chan look like that. Even when she was one with Illya, he had never made such an expression.

"Don't you think that's impossible? " Kuro had the urge to ask. "To save one you might have to hurt someone else. "

Shirou nodded understanding what she was trying to say.

"It probably is impossible really. " He admitted, chuckling sheepishly.  
"Then? Why do you want to be a hero of justice when you know it's impossible? "

"I just want to. Just like Tou-san and Kaa-san saved me and adopted me, I too want to save everyone else. It might be hopeless, foolish but I still want to. I can't help but aspire you see. " Shirou finished with a nostalgic smile.

Kuro found it strange. Her brother was chasing an impossible dream yet he still was so happy, so cheerful. She didn't get it.

As someone who just wanted a family, Kuro didn't get it. If she had failed to become family with Illya and the others or had to live alone once more, if her dream became an impossibility-she probably would have despaired and end up killing herself.

Shirou's dream is something even more impossible.  
Something he knows.  
But something he is determined to achieve.  
He doesn't despair.  
He just continues to aspire.  
Kuro didn't understand.

"What if the path you believed was wrong? " She asked. "What if your ideals were just hypocrisy? A folly? A logical fallacy? What if your path ended in despair? " Kuro asked. It seemed to Shirou she was getting a bit too emotional.

He patted her to calm her down.  
"Easy there. No need to get so serious. " He gave her his ever care free smile.

"I believe, " Shirou turned to the night sky, stretching out his hand. "If I follow the path I believe in, I can't be wrong. "  
"It doesn't matter if it's hypocrisy. It doesn't matter if it's logical fallacy. It doesn't matter if there is only despair along the road. The path exists. The goal, an impossible distance away. But it's still there. "  
He closed his stretched hand and looked at the fist he made.

"Even if it's an impossible distance away, I still want to grasp it. Because if I believe in myself, my ideals then I truly can't be wrong. "  
He finished with a smile.

The smile was different from any other smile of his she had ever seen.  
It was determined.  
It was confident.  
Looking at his smile made her feel like he can do it.  
Achieve that impossible dream of his.

Her heart started beating faster. Her face became redder. She started sweating. Her mind was in a mess.

It seemed she had fallen in love with him even more.

 _What a sinful big brother? Making his little sister fall head over heels for him like that. . .  
_ Kuro smiled to herself.

She loved her onii-chan as a brother and as a man.

She smiled mischievously at him.  
That smile unnerved Shirou somewhat.  
Whenever Kuro gave him that smile, it meant she was going to tease him.

"Onii-chan. "  
Kuro's voice sounded awfully cute. . . and ominous.  
"W-what is it? " Shirou asked in trepidation.

CHUUUUUUUUU.

Kuro had suddenly jumped on Shirou and kissed him on the nape of the neck.

"W-what? " Shirou was caught completely offguard. His face flushed a bright red.

BADAMP!

Shirou felt his heartbeat rise all on a sudden.  
It was rising and rising. . . not stabilizing.

 _Is it because I'm flustered?_

His head started throbbing as his heartbeat rose even more.

Before he could grasp the situation, his vision became white.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Shirou saw a field of swords.

Countless and countless of swords littered around a dead landscape.  
The sun ever so red. Shining brightly, burning brighter and hotter than anything he had ever seen.  
There were other weapons other than the swords.  
Battle axes, bows, arrows, staffs, lances, clubs. . .  
But all of them were outnumbered by the infinite number of swords.  
The swords were strong, stronger than anything he had ever seen.  
Yet weaker than anything he could possibly imagine.  
In the middle of it stood a man staring at the sky.  
His face bearing an unreadable expression.  
He saw his face but he couldn't perceive his identity.  
He felt he knew this man.  
Yet he knew he did not.

The man looked at him and muttered something.  
He couldn't hear it.  
He muttered once more and again and again.  
He went closer to him.  
Finally he heard him.  
He said-

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **"** Onii-chan! "  
Shirou broke out of his daze.

"Hey onii-chan, are you okay? " Kuro asked at him, her voice ridden with obvious worry.

"I'm sorry. I was just a little out of it. " He chuckled sheepishly as he said that.

Kuro didn't seemed to believe him and still looked at him with worried eyes.

"You know, if something's wrong. . . you can talk to me you know. " It might look like suggestion however to Shirou it felt like it was a plea.

A plea to confide in her.

Shirou smiled.

 _Really to make such a cute little sister worry, I really am a failure of a big brother._

Shirou ruffled her hair and smiled at her.

"I'm fine Kuro. Don't worry. " He assured her.

Taking her coffee cup Shirou headed out of the veranda.

"It's getting late. Let's go to bed shall we? We have a hectic day tomorrow! " Shirou cheered.  
Worried at first, it seems her brothers cheerful tone had somewhat alleviated him of his worry.

"Yea! Can I sleep with you?! " Kuro happily latched on to Shirou.  
"Please go to your own room. " He sighed.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
** _ **  
**_ _What was that?_

Shirou thought as he lay on his bed.

The moment he felt kuro's lips touch his skin, he felt like he had been connected to Kuro.

Kuro for some reason always had a familiar feeling to her. Not just her resemblance to Illya but another feeling that he felt only he could relate to.

That world of swords, that hill, those swords whose very existence reeked of contradiction and that strange man who was trying to tell him something-

He felt that all of these were a part of Kuro.

And him.

It was strange but he felt it. They felt like a part of him. Their existence and his-they were symbiotic almost.

His brain hurt from thinking. Without information, he would not get anywhere. The only thing that he would gain from overthinking this is a migraine.

 _No use thinking about it today. Let's just sleep for the night. I have to take the kiddos to the beach tomorrow._

Shirou closed his eyes and almost instantly fell asleep. He was exhausted.

That night Shirou dreamt of a world of swords.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

Illya, Miyu and Kuro's birthday passed without any problems. Although all of them, which included Shirou, the three birthday girls, Shirou's friend Issei, his classmates Rin and Luvia and Illya's other friends-Mimi, Nana, Tatasuko , felt a hour two were missing from their memories, they didn't mind. All that they remember is that they had fun and to them that's all that mattered.

After reaching hope Shirou told them that he is going to stay over at Issei's for a school project. Excusing himself, he went over to Issei's. Or more specifically Issei's safe house where Lorelei was residing.

 _No time for dilly-dallying. Only 2 days left. I've got up my game._

Entering the safe house, he had been greeted with a punch from Lorelei. According to her, a student that neglects training deserves a much more through disciplining however she was injured and needed rest so she would forgive him this time.

For Lorelei, most of her injuries have healed except the gash along her shoulders. Her body however still ached all over. She was recovering but was far from her peak.

She sat on her bed urging Shirou to sit on the chair infront of her.

"So how's training going? " She asked him.  
"Well. . . " He hesitated to bit. "Not really good. "

She narrowed her eyes at him.  
"You didn't train at all did you? "

It sounded more like an assertion than a statement.

"Haha. . . " He chuckled dryly.

However he suddenly turned serious.

"But even so, I think. . . I think I can successfully project something now. " Shirou affirmed.

Lorelei rasied her eyebrows at him. The last time she had seen him perform projection, he had failed horribly. He didn't even train the last 2 days. Yet he is confident he can use projection. It felt quite strange to her.

Then again, she knew Shirou wasn't a person to put on airs.

"Well then show me if you are so confident, ? " She made a jab at him.  
Shirou winced inwardly.  
He knew it. She was mad at him for skipping out on practice.  
"W-well it's no-not like I-im sure. . . uh more like a hunch. " Shirou wanted to kill himself for stammering.

Lorelei's glare intensified. She scowled at him.  
"JUST DO IT! "

"YES MAAM! "

Shirou sat, making himself comfortable.

"Project this. " Lorelei gave him a dagger.

Shirou however didn't take it. He fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat.

 _He is being awfully annoying today._

"What?!" She couldn't help raising her voice.

"w-well I want to project something from my memory. . . " He fearfully stated. Lorelei was very scary when angry. Even an angry Sella was a pup before Lorelei who was probably a white wolf.

"Oh. . . ? " Lorelei snorted.  
"You who couldn't even project an existing object wishes to project one from his memory? You're being awfully arrogant aren't you? " She questioned him smugly.

She isn't wrong though. The fact that he who sucked so bad that he couldn't even project an object after physically feeling it and observing it was planning to project something from his memory. He was being very arrogant.

But. . .

Shirou didn't know why but he felt he could do it.  
He was sure he could do it.

He looked at Lorelei and stared at her intensly.

Lorelei felt her face heat up and her heart beat rise.  
 _What's with him staring at me so intensly?_

"W-what? " She sounded very feminine, unlike her usual condescending Lorelei manner of speech.

"Believe in me. " Shirou stated, his gaze unwavering as it stared right back at Lorelei's.

Lorelei's eyes widened.

That gaze. . . it was just like when he said he wanted to help her.

 _He is confident. . . no he is positively sure he can do it._

And again just like for some unknown reason like before she felt he could do it. No he would do it.

She nodded at him. Shirou took it as a signal for him to continue.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. He tried to visualize the weapon he wanted to project. The weapon he knew surely he could project. He focused all the prana of his body into his hands.

 _Can't find it._

He concentrated harder. He delved deeper into his consciousness. He needed to find it. The artifact he knew he could surely find it. He didn't really know why he was so confident. Was it because of the weird vision followed by that weird dream? He didn't know. But he was confident.

 _Concentrate harder. Dive deeper._

Suddenly, everything became white.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
**  
The land was scorching.  
The sun shining high in the sky.  
The land was embedded with weapons.  
Axes, bows, arrows, halberds, lances  
But swords outnumbered all of them.  
It looked like a haven for swords.  
But to him it felt like a graveyard.  
In the middle of it stood the man he saw in that vision of his.  
This time he was hitting a heated metal piece.  
*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*  
The sound of a hammer hitting metal reverberated across the empty world of swords.  
It seems he was making something.

What are you making?

He looked at me and mouthed something.  
I couldn't hear it.

What?

This time however I managed to hear it.

"Kanshou and Byakuya. "

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The image of a pair of swords suddenly surfaced in Shirou's mind.

"Trace on. " He muttered.

His magic circuits activated as he began to analyze the blue prints of the swords.

Tracing allowed him access to not only the blue prints but also the history of the sword.

"Analysis complete. Project:Kanshou and Byakuya ! "

As soon as the words left his mouth, two swords formed from the prana in his hand.  
One black, one white.

These were the married swords Kanshou and Byakuya.

Lorelei widened her eyes.

 _What the hell?_

The guy who couldn't even project your average utensils has now projected two complex swords.

She could tell these swords were incredible. The luster, the sharpness, even the very presence of the swords would confuse one who didn't know Shirou used projection. His improvement defied common sense.

"How is this possible? " She asked in wonder.

Shirou, on the otherhand, was ecstatic. He did it. He successfully did his first projection! He couldn't be any happier.  
He jumped in exuberation and grasped Lorelei's hands.

"I DID IT! LORLELEI LORELEI I DID IT! " He jumped joyously, not registering the apparent blush which began to color Lorelei's cheeks.

Lorelei's head was spinning now. This man, Shirou Emiya, was touching the hands of her, Lorelei Barthomeloi-no grasping her hands with his. The audacity of his?! But why did she like this feeling? Why did this make her feel embarrassed yet happy at the same time?

She ascertained for the umpteenth time that Shirou Emiya was a man of such caliber that made her feel like maidenly.

 _Curse you Shirou Emiya. . ._

She tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.

Amidst his joy, Shirou began to realize Lorelei was awfully quite. He'd half expected her to berate him for being so happy before the battle and complain that he was being too carefree. But the lack of response from her was something he found surprising.  
"Lorelei? " Shirou gave her a quizzical look.

Lorelei was completely red, unable to meet his eyes. Was Lorelei so bashful? Well sometimes she would act tsundere but she wasn't this bashful. . . so why? Shirou didn't seem to understand what suddenly made her act this way.

". . . Your hand. . ." A meek, quite response escaped his lips.

Shirou looked at his hand and found that it was tightly holding on to Lorelei's. He was able to put 2 in 2 together-Lorelei's sudden change in behavior was due to him holding her hands. He finally began to realize the implications of his actions, his face turning a shade of red similar to Lorelei's.

"I-I'm S-sorry?! " He let go off her hand and apologized desperately.

"I-i-t was an a-accident! Really! I-I swear I w-won't do it ever again! " He replied, half embarrassed and half scared for his life.

He expected a beat down from Lorelei or maybe a 3 hour lecture. What he didn't expect was her to act even more bashful, still looking away from him and her cheeks still dusted with a shade of pink.

She coughed lightly.

"A-ah i-it's fine. N-now lets get back to training. . . shall we? " She tried to regain her composure, but failed to as she was stuttering quite badly.

 _Why am I so embarrassed?_

Shirou's gaze was fixed strongly at Lorelei. She couldn't look him in the eye. Red in the face, she bashfully looked away. Her fingers playing with her brown hair, she was looking very beautiful.

 _Was Lorelei always this beautiful?_

Shirou nodded lamely.

The image of Lorelei had been ingrained in his heart.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After the awkward exchange, Shirou continued to practice projection for the next 2 days. Although, he could project weapons and quite particulary swords, they still lacked durability as even after reinforcement they lasted at about a minute or two in real combat. Shirou continued to refine his projection along with his reinforcement. The use of thought acceleration had sped up his training.  
Lorelei's injury had healed too. Well she was still sore all over but the major cuts and bruises were all healed. There were some minor cuts and bruises but Lorelei said they were nothing to worry about. She had also recovered a majority of her prana. Although far from a hundred percent, she had reclaimed a major portion of her strength.

Within the one week they've been together, Shirou and Lorelei have formed a strange bond perse. The older woman was definitely more than a mentor to him. The awkward exchange last time around had made him atleast sure of that. Whether it was romantic affection or just physical attraction-he didn't know but he decided that he would let it rest up and until the fight was over.

Lorelei too realized that she felt something for the younger red haired student. His kindness, confidence and that uncanny charm made her develop certain feelings which she'd rather not admit. Her pride as a Barthomeloi and her elitist view didn't allow her to be complacent about such feelings. Besides, she didn't want to be distracted before her battle with Calhin. She was not only responsible for bringing honour back to her family but also responsible for the life of Shirou Emiya.

It was the day of the battle. The two of them prepared their things. Shirou wearing his ever blue t-shirt and a jacket along with sports trousers. Lorelei wore her magus outfit as she did during their first encounter. Her gauntlet fixed on her right hand. She had managed to import her clothers and weaponry from England. The power of wealth was frightening was what Shirou thought.

"Ready? " Lorelei asked her student.

Shirou gulped nervously.

Although he was confident before, now when it was time to fight-he was nervous as hell. But he won't just give up just like that. He promised he'd save Lorelei and save he will.

"Yea. " He replied, nervous yet unwavering.

Lorelei smirked.  
"You've got some spunk. That I have to admit. "

Lorelei's smile made Shirou feel better all on a sudden. As if all his worries were lifted and he was free.

"You ain't seen nothing. " He smirked back.

"Well. . . " She started. "Better get going. "  
"Where? "  
"Fuyuki City Church. That's were our friend, Stanrobe Calhin is. "

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
And cut.**

 **Although I was enjoying writing this chapter, I got really preoccupied with clubs and stuff making it hard for me to write it. I managed to finish this decently enough but it could have been much better. Anyways apologies for updating late.**

 **This chapter was a slice of life kind of chapter which I just made for the fun of it and because I couldn't find any better way for Shirou to access Archer's power-well his power technically. So, I thought Heeyyyyy we've got tanned Illya. Personally I love Kuro. As sultry as she is, she really is a fun character. A more cheerful version of the UBW Illya.**

 **Also I had writing the family scenes lol. It was fun. I wanted to focus a bit more on Illya thought but I got side tracked by Kuro and Leysritt. Those two are really fun to write.**

 **Not much of an Author's note today. As you've noticed the setting for the battle is the church. You're probably thinking about how Kirei might appear next chapter. Yep you're right!**

 **Next chapter will be pretty action packed so don't miss it. Oh and I'll be busy for a while so it'll be some time before I update.**

 **Thanks for the reviews guys. Those really helped me a lot. It makes me even more motivated to write.  
Anyways, chiaaoooo~~~**

 **Read and review people 3**

 __


	4. Chapter 4

**Arc01:Battle against the Immortals  
Chapter03: The Executioner, the darkness and the hero of justice**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Nasuverse (Tsukihime, Fate/Stay night, Fate/Kaleid Liner etc. ). If I did, Illya would have been the fourth heroine.**

"So this is Fuyuki church, " Shirou muttered as he stood before the premises of the very big, grand even Fuyuki Church. He had always seen it from far away when he went to school but this was his first time being so up close and personal. His family has not been the religious kind and so him and Illya have pretty much been isolated from religious and the likes of it. The only thing they would do related to religion would be their occasional visits to the Shrine every year during New Year's eve.

"It's baffling that you haven't been here despite living here for about 10 years, " the brunette by his side, Lorelei Barthomeloi, commented.

Shirou found it baffling too.  
A foreigner has better knowledge on the interior of Fuyuki city than him, a local.

"Well, my family hasn't been too keen on religion. "  
"Doesn't negate the fact that this is your first time before a major establishment here in Fuyuki. "

The two walked as they entered the garden surrounding the church. The church from the outside was big, British architecture of the 19th century visible along the walls as it was colored a beautiful white. The garden around it was also adorned with a panaroma of flowers-each more beautiful than the last. The church exuded this appearance of all that is holy and all that is pure.

But why did he get such a bad feeling from the church?  
As if countless sins had been committed here.  
As if this place was far more evil than one could possibly imagine.

Maybe it was the fact that they were here at night- Shirou deduced and also coupled with the fact that they were about to fight a vampire.

A 27 dead apostle ancestor, the strongest of creatures only second to true vampires.  
Only in theory though.

"Hey, Lorelei. "Shirou tried to grab the attention of his teacher.  
"Hmm? " Lorelei gave him a quizzical look. "What? "  
"Is this man really here? A vampire being in a church- sounds contradictory. "

Lorelei nodded at his question. She could understand why he would ask that. To be brutally honest,this was something she didn't know the answers to herself.

"I can understand where you are getting at but the fact is that he'll be here. Besides, this church doesn't feel sacrosanct, " she answered him. "I've heard rumours about this place being an orphanage once before. It was ran by a brother and a sister-siblings who also happen to offer their body to the Christian God. "

"Then what happened? Something must have happened right? "

"It seemed the siblings had been in an incestuous relationship and continued it even after dedicating their lives as apostles of God. The couple had a child. Supposedly,the people in the area found about it. They had tried to burn them alive calling them devils under the guise of the holy. The church has been renovated after it had been burnt down by the locals… "she paused taking a deep breath, "at least that's what the rumours say. "

Shirou breath hitched at the story. To think a place this holy had a past this dark. Shirou decided to ask the question he was worried about the most.

"What of the orphans and the child they bore? " 

"They were sent off to other orphanages affiliated with the Church. The child too had been sent away. It seemed while they could despise the parent's for their taboo relationship they could not despise the child. Even if they did, they did not have the heart to make it suffer. " She replied, as if laughing at the irony of the rumour.

Shirou breathed a sigh of relief. He never expected this church to have this kind of a backstory to it. To think he'd stumble upon such a secret-although it was just a rumour.

However, he felt angry. While he too did not appreciate their idea of being in an incestuous relationship or violating the creed they had sworn their lives too, the individuals who were in question were probably two people who loved each other very much.

The fact that they were burned to death and separated from their child was something Shirou couldn't accept. He felt sad mostly for a child. Because of his irresponsible parents and cruel adults-his life had turned upside down.

Lorelei could understand how Shioru was feeling down. She smiled a sad smile. Truly, he was very people would shun is something he was willing to accept.

Shirou was the kindest of the kind.  
Lorelei found it beautiful yet cruel.

She slapped the back of his head to get Shirou out of his stupor.  
"It's just a rumour. You don't need to concern yourself with it. Get your gear together. We will fight a dead apostle, " she half-admonished him with authority.

Shirou smiled sheepishly as if he forgot what he had initially came here for.

"Yea right. " He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.

"Besides, you can feel it right? " Lorelei looked towards the direction of the church.

"The Malice? "

"Yea, " Shirou replied. "I don't know whether it is the vampire we are looking for but whatever or whoever it is-he really needs to tone it down. "

Because the malice was so strong that it made him feel nauseated.

"Let's go. " Lorelei walked as Shirou followed in tow. They headed towards the entrance of the church.

Bam!

The church door had suddenly opened and at an instant they were attacked by massive knives or swords.

"Dodge! " Lorelei yelled at Shirou.

Shirou quickly moved his body in ways he could not ever imagine and managed to evade the attack. Lorelei had used her prana to create a wind armour around her body to deflect the attack.

"That was close. "

Shirou released a sigh of relief.

Lorelei hit him on the head.

"Don't let you guard down. He's coming. " She narrowed her eyes at the entrance. From the darkness which looked like the interior of the church, came out a man.

He looked roughly in his forty. He had long hair, black all over with a gray hue. He was quite tall and had a decent build that suggested he was proficient in martial arts. He was wearing the outfit of a priest, pitch black in color.

The man was smiling yet his eyes were hollow. Hollower than anything Shirou had seen before.

It scared Shirou.

The only time Shirou felt this scared was when he witness Calhin and Lorelei fight. This man wasn't as strong as Calhin-he was sure of it but . . . he was far far more dangerous. Rather unlike Calhin he felt evil and every single nerve in his body screamed at his brain to run.

He gulped.

Lorelei felt Shirou's fear. She grabbed his hand and held it tight. She looked firmly at Shirou.

Shirou blushed at the sudden contact however he realized Lorelei was trying to calm him down. He breathed in deeply to remove his fear.

"Thanks. "  
Lorelei nodded. She then turned to look at the man before her.

"Executioner of the church, " She spoke, her voice laced with animosity.

The man bowed respectfully, the smirk never leaving his face.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Lorelei Barthomeloi, proud heir to the Barthomeloi. I am Kotomine Kirei,the pastor here. "

His voice humble yet Shirou felt a dangerous intonation.

"Why would an executioner be here dressing up as a pastor? Are you here for the vampire? If so, then back off. I shall be the one to end its existence. " Lorelei stated as a matter of fact. She would not let some petty executioner from the church get in the way of her revenge.

She would not let anyone get in the way of her revenge.

"No no, " the man known as Kirei denied. His voice felt jolly and overjoyed as if he had heard the funniest joke of the century.

"I am not here to kill the vampire. In fact, I am not even affiliated with the church. This is what you'd call a personal endeavour. "

Lorelei raised her eyebrows, loosening up a bit. However, not once did she let her guard down.

Shirou couldn't understand what was going on here. He whispered to Lorelei.  
"Who is this guy? "

"He is a part of the Executioners or exorcists who are affiliated with the church. They are part of an independent group within the church called the burial agency. They specialize in hunting down supernatural beings. Particulary vampires, " Lorelei replied, her eyes never leaving the man infront of her.

The man continued to smile.

"Yes, I was formerly affiliated with the church but currently I am just your everyday run of the mill priest, " Kirei said almost amused.

"Then move. A vampire is in that church. I need to pulverize it. " Lorelei moved towards the entrance.

Suddenly a second torrent of blades made of black steel attacked Lorelei- this time from above. However they did not hit her rather surrounded her making a circle.

"Wha- " Before she could finish she felt a massive electric shock all over her body.  
"GAHH! "

She screamed in pain as electricity coursed through every single nerve and bone in her body. If not for her immediate use of prana to protect her she would've been scorched instantly.

Kirei moved towards her, his smile now a bit sadistic.

"I am afraid I cannot let you do that. That person said as long as I can get you to wait here I will see true despair. " Kirei looked in absolute glee.

"Who? What person? What despair? What are you taking about? " Lorelei yelled at him.  
"AHH! "  
More electricity invaded her body.

"LORELEI! " Shirou ran towards her only to be attacked by the previously used blades.  
Shifting his centre of gravity, he barely dodged the onslaught.

"You! " Shirou glared at the man.

"Please do not look at me like that, " Kirei walked towards Shirou, "I'm but a man true to my desires. My desire to witness despair. "

"You're sick! " Shirou yelled.  
"How can you find people's misery funny? "

Kirei kept quiet yet his smile became wider.  
The boy's innocence and inability to comprehend made him want to see him despair.  
How beautiful a face would he make when he breaks him, crushes that naivette of his? Kirei desperately wanted to know that.

"Back off Shirou! " Lorelei shouted towards Shirou.

"You just learned magecraft. Although you are quite gifted, but alone you cannot defeat this man. He is strong."

Lorelei tried to stand however she felt extremely weak. Just breathing was making her lungs and body scream.

Damn it.

They hadn't even reached Calhin yet.

Another torrent of electricity zapped her.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lorelei screamed in agony as she fell face first on the ground. Her clothes burnt, her skin bloody.

Her battered body lay in front of him.

Something inside Shirou snapped.

"TRACE ON! "

Muttering his own unique chant, he formed kanshou and byakuya in his hands.

He dashed towards Kirei, ready to strike him in an instant. He knew he wouldn't be able to win against him if he got really serious. So-

He'll take him down before he even realizes it.

He slashed at him instantly with the two blades. Not a single wasted movement. He didn't stop there. He followed it up with slash after slash after slash.

"What? " Shirou's eyes widened in shock as his strikes were all blocked by the black blades Kirei was so fond of using.

Correction: Levitating black blades.  
Kirei followed his blocks with a kick to Shirou's stomach sending him flying away. The impact was so profound that Shirou had found himself coughing up blood as he hit the Church gates.

"Don't be so hasty, " Kirei mock admonished Shirou. "Let's despair together slowly and profoundly. "

Shirou winced in pain. His body was sore all over. He glared at the sadistic priest who apparently had black blades hovering around him.

"Bastard, " Shirou muttered.

"Stop… " Lorelei mustered what little of her energy to try and stop Shirou.

"Those w-weapons are the black keys… *Cough*… t-those are something you c-can handle. I'll deal w-with him s-so r-run. "

Lorelei coughed as she fell on her face, this time unconscious.

"So she was conscious, " Kirei bemused.  
"What tenacity. This enchantment was given to me just to kill . It was supposed to take her out in one massive shock. Hmm… impressive. She withstood 13 shocks and is just unconscious. "

Kirei's voice sounded impressed.

He seemed to find Lorelei's battered body something interesting and fun.

This made Shirou more mad.

"I'll kill you! " Shirou cursed him. His stood up,barely able to stand. But he didn't care. How dare he think that this is a game… did he find toying with people's live so much fun?

"Do not be stupid. I can kill you whenever I want. " Kirei got a bit serious this time. His smile gone.

"The only reason I'm not doing so is because I want you to despair slowly and painfully. Otherwise it is no fun. " He readied his black keys which were hovering around him.

"Now, " He clasped his hands together and pointed his index finger towards Shirou like a gun.

"Let's have some fun shall we? " The sadistic smile once again taking it's spot on the despair loving pastors face.

Shirou's eyes widened as he realized what this man infront of him was about to do.

"Bang! "

The black keys moved at incredible speed towards Shirou. He couldn't react in time. The keys had embedded itself in his shoulders,hands,legs and even his stomack.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! "

The pain of being pierced by numerous blades at the same time caused him agony beyond imagination. He fell on the ground, his body unmoving,blood gushing forth from his wounds.

His vision started to become blurry. Darkness looming over him, ready to engulf him.

 _Lorelei… Sorry._

He could only apologise to the girl whom he thought of as a teacher and a friend. He promised to help her beat Stanrobe Calhin but ended up getting himself killed before he reached his goal.

 _I'm just all talk…  
_  
He hated his weakness. He thought for sure he could help her win-he was so confident. But he realizes it now-he is just a phony, a faker.

Amidst his self deprecation, Shirou could feel his breathing stop.  
He could no longer see.  
Death.  
It seems it had got hold of him.

 _Well… Fuck._

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

He was greeted once more by the world of swords.

Littered around the ground, they were innumerable.  
But they were not the only ones.  
Lances, spears, clubs, axes- all lay open in the dead landscape.  
The sun was scorching.  
The air warm and humid.  
The heat was unbearable. Shirou felt as if his body would catch on fire.  
*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*  
He saw him once more.  
A blacksmith of sorts hammering away at heated iron. Just like always, he was busy with his work.  
For some reason, the sight of him made Shirou made today. He felt a genuine sense of curiousness the previous times he had come to this place but today he was angry.

"Hey. "  
He called out to the man.  
The man didn't respond and continued hammering away.  
"You know, I'm sick and tired of seeing you like this. Who are you and where am I? "  
The sounds of iron hitting iron reverberated the space.  
Shirou was getting really angry now.  
"Hey- " Just as he was about to yell at him again, the man turned around.  
His hair was white and his skin unusually tanned.  
"This is place is your mindscape. The inner part of your soul. And as for me? I am but nobody. Just a hardworking blacksmith. "  
This made Shirou madder. Why is this man trying to act so coy with him? And what is with this sense of familiarity?  
"Hey, that is the vaguest answer ever?! Answer me seriously, " Shirou yelled.

"Do you think you have the luxury of leisure? "  
 _What?  
_ "You'll probably die out of blood loss. The priest's keys are enchanted. Your body is losing blood faster than it would have normally. "  
 _How did he know all of this? Wait, he did say this was his mind, the inners of his soul. He must've seen it from here._  
But if what he said was true, Shirou understood he had no time to worry about that man or that place. He needed to get his act together, save him and Lorelei. And well punch the priest out cold.

And he realized he couldn't do it with his current power. He needed this man's help.

"Help me. "  
The main raised his eyebrow quizzically at him.  
"You helped me project Kanshou and Byakuya that time, right? Help me project a weapon capable of killing the priest. " Shirou asked him resolutely.  
"Why should I? "  
"What? " Shirou was surprised.  
"The last time I helped you was out of a whim. I had no intentions to help you or anything. "  
The man took to his hammering.  
"Besides… " he continued. "If possible I would advise you to give up on this suicidal path. "

"What are you talking about?" Shirou was confused. What is this man going on about.  
"You cannot possibly beat Stanrobe Calhin. Neither can that woman. Even if I help you beat the priest, you'll be dead the moment you face the vampire. "  
Shirou felt like he was being underestimated . This irked him.  
"How do you know it? I'll beat this priest, I'll beat Stanrobe and I will save Lorelei. "  
Shirou stated, confident.  
Shirou walked towards the man and forcefully turned him around. He held him by the robe he was wearing and looked fiercly into his eyes.

"I'll prove you wrong. "  
Shirou didn't know why he was so aggressive? He was always nice, kindhearted and polite. But this man… just talking to him made Shirou angry. He wanted to prove anything this man said wrong.

An irrational sense of disdain.

The man chuckled.  
"My, my aren't you energetic. But I won't help you. I have my own reasons. " The man concluded with finality.

Shirou didn't want to convince this man otherwise. He dropped him.  
"Hey… you said this place was my mind right? "  
"What of it? "

"Then all this weapons… are weapons I can use right?"  
The man felt a sense of foreboding.

"What are you trying to get at? "  
Shirou smirked at him. If you won't help me, I'll just help myself. "  
With that Shirou ran to the nearest weapon. He knew he didn't have time and so he picked whatever weapon he had.

The weapon was a set of bow and an arrow, oddly shaped. The arrow looked like a sword with several curves. Yet it looked like an enlarged arrow.

He didn't have the time to leisurely choose his weapon. The more time he wasted here, the likely hood of his and Lorelei's survival dropped. He couldn't afford to search other weapons. This had to do.

He picked up the bow and arrow. He turned around to smirk at the blacksmith.

The blacksmith sighed. This boy was annoying, he thought.

"I don't care what you do but just get out. "

The moment the blacksmith said that, Shirou felt the world around him collapse as a blindening light obstructed his vision.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**  
"I thought he was unlucky getting himself always dragged into other peoples' problems but what do you know? To think he would pick one of the most destructive and dangerous weapons out of all these infinite weapons. Lucky bastard. "

The blacksmith stopped his musings and got backed to hammering away at iron.

He had work.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Shirou opened his eyes in the real world. He felt his body had run over by a truck. Every single bone hurt, every single part stinged. He could also feel the blood flowing out of his wounds. He tried to stand, but the pain was too much. He fell on all fours, coughing up blood.

"Well, well you are quite the tenacious one. Impaled by my enchanted keys yet alive… indeed it seems the goddess of luck loves you. "  
The priest turned towards Shirou with an evil, sadistic smile.

Shirou glared at him.  
 _Sick pervert._

Kotomine walked towards Shirou. His face amused, a dark glint in his eyes.  
"You should give up, you know? You cannot beat me. Not at your current state, at the very least. "

He took one of his keys and held it just at Shirou's neck.  
"Well, let us end this here. You are amusing and I would love to torture you but I do not have enough time. The vampire is waiting after all. Such a shame. Such pure, resolute eyes- how lovely It would hve been to see despair in them. " Kotomine shivered in delight of Shirou despairing.

Shirou said nothing all the while. He turned his eyes to Lorelei. She was unconscious but definitely alive.  
She was also quite far away.

This should work.

"Hey," Shirou drew the attention of Kotomine towards him.

 _Trace on._

Kotomine raised his eyebrows at Shirou. His sadistic smile still present.  
"What is it? "

Shirou, mustering whatever strength he had, send a high kick directly towards Kotomine's face. 

His magic circuits activated as he started to analyze the structure of the weapon.  
He learned the history of weapon and trace the blue prints.

Shirou's sudden attack caught Kotomine by surprise. He didn't expect that he would be able to move much less produce a high kick.

But regardless, he was able to block the attack with relative ease.

"What a futile effort. You won't beat me. So, just sit still and let me enjoy your despair, " he told Shirou, smirking at him.

 _Analysis complete._

Shirou smirked at him.  
His smirk surprised Kotomine.

 _What could he be planning?_

"Sorry but the one who is going to despair will be you, " Shirou stated as he jumped back quite a few meters from Kotomine.

Such wayward movements made Shirou's body scream in pain. His vision also became blurry but this is the only way. He just had to hold the pain for a bit longer.

He read the blueprints of his weapon in his mind.

 _Project:Cadalbolg 2._

The bow and sword like arrow was projected. Shirou was a prodigy when it came to archery so he had no trouble holding the weapon.

He readied his weapon.

Fear.  
The moment Kotomine saw his weapon he felt fear.  
What was that weapon?  
What is that absurd prana?  
That weapon is something that shoud't exist ?!

 _If I get hit with it, I'll die?!_

The presence of the super power weapon Cadalbolg too made Kirei lose his confidence.

"Don't screw with me, " Kotomine snapped.  
"You are injured, your body is broken. Yet you stand against me? I… I… I'll DESTROY YOU?! "  
With a yell,Kotomine send his levitating keys towards Shirou. The keys flew with incredible speed and would have reached Shirou and impaled him…

if Lorelei hadn't used her wind magic to change their directions.

Shirou turned towards Lorelei as she gave him a thumbs up.

Kirei looked at Shirou the despair evident in his face.

"Now you despair. " Shirou said with finality and released the arrow.

"NO?!" Kirei raged. This couldn't be the end for him. How could the tide of the battle shift in just a few seconds.

 _Broken Phantasm: Cadalbolg II  
_  
The sword-arrow impaled kirei and in a massive explosions destroyed Kirei along with the church. The explosion caused a small scale earthquake

Lorelei from the sidelines, now conscious, stared in awe. The power of the weapon was unreal. The entire church wiped out in an instant.

What was left of the church was just an empty ground, charred by the explosion. Not a single thing present. It seems Kirei's boyd vaporized instantly.

Maybe even Stanrobe was?

Wait, now wasn't the time to worry about Calhin. She had to check on Shirou.

She forced her body to get up. Her body still hurt from the lightning enchantment. The bruises had not healed and the pain was still very fresh but she could move if barely.

Shirou stood, his breath ragged. He had exhausted every bit of his prana storage. The reinforced weapon broke and disappeared.

Fatigue over took Shirou. He lost all the feeling in his legs and was about to fall just when he was caught by Lorelei.

Shirou, in the arms of Lorelei, smirked at her with a thumbs up.

"H-how w-was that? P-pretty a-awesome, right?" He barely managed to speak. Lorelei just sighed. This man was stubborn. Yet, he managed to surprise her everytime.

He was truly an anomaly. The man known as Shirou Emiya.

"Well, that wasn't half bad, " She complimented him.

Shirou's eyes widened. Not because of the compliment, but…

 _She is smiling._

Lorelei was smiling and this was more charming, more genuine than any other expression of hers.  
And…  
 _She is so beautiful._

A flush spread across Shirou's face. His heart started beating very hard, almost ready to escape his chest.

A surge of heat and green light enveloped his body. He looked at the source, Lorelei's hand.

"This is a healing magic. This should heal your injuries to some extent. However, this is only first aid. After this fight is fight is over, we need to get you to a hospital, " she told him.

Shirou smiled at her.  
"Thanks! You really are nice. "

"W-wha?! " Lorelei stammered. His smile was so charming that she couldn't help blushing. Her cheeks felt warm, her mind a bit fuzzy but happy at the same time.

"S-shut up and rest. " She turned her head to the side and pouted cutely. Shirou could only chuckle to himself. She was cute when she wasn't honest with herself.

"Well, you two sure are being love dovey. Good job at beating the priest though. "

Both Shirou and Lorelei tensed at the voice. They looked towards the source.

A man was floating in the sky. A tanned skinned brunette with a cow-boy hat.

 _Stanrobe Clahin!_

The two registered the identity of the man before them.

The man didn't seem to pay attention to their shocked expressions and as he mused on his own.

"Well, although 'he' asked me to work with the priest but well he was creep, you know? In fact, I am glad you killed him. That guy was upto no good after all. Piece of shit had weird fetishes. If you hadn't blown away the church, I'd have shown you some of his twisted hobbies. Besides, it seems you've learnt magecraft, boy. That was a strange form of thaumaturgy though but it was incredibly powerful. Man, the look on his face when- "

Stahlin couldn't finish his musings as a blast of wind blades were thrown at him.  
However, he easily dodged them.  
He looked down at the two, who were glaring at him with apparent disdain.

He sighed to himself. These brats…

Man, he was pissed off now.

"Well… Didn't I tell you that the next time we meet I'll kill you? Sigh, youngsters this days just don't listen."

Suddenly, the aura around Stahlin changed. A malevolent aura surrounding him.

His cheerful expression now reduced to one with a dark one.

"Sorry, but I will have to kill you now for their sake. "

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **And cut.**_

 _ **First of all, I'd like to apologize. I was really busy with studies and exams and just couldn't find the time to write it. At one point, I even thought of quitting this but some odd power forced me to continue writing this and frankly I am happy I did continue.**_

 _ **Although, I am still very busy and am not sure when I will be able to update the next chapter but I don't think I'll quit so please expect more chapters at irregular intervals xD**_

 _ **A lot of things happening at the blink of an eye. The dark secret behind the church, Kirei's appearance and subsequent death, Shirou being able to use Cadalbolg 2- a lot of things happened and a lot more to happen with Stanrobe Calhin readying himself to kill the injured Shirou and Lorelei.**_

 _ **The next chapter will be a battle against Calhin and the revelation of 'HIM'.**_

 _ **Also regarding the dark past of the church, I did it in order to connect the reasons behind Calhin's appearance. SO, if you are disgusted with incest I am sorry but all of these connect to a lot of things later in the arc.**_

 _ **Also apologies if I had hurt anyone's religious feelings. It is purely fiction with no ill intention.**_

 _ **Onwards to the next chapter.**_

 _ **Read and review. Constructive criticism is always helpful.**_ ****

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Bonus:**

 **Kotomine Kirei  
Species:Human  
Age:35  
Specialities:An abnormal thirst for despair  
Magecraft: Enchantments  
Weapons: Enchanted keys  
** _  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**Arc01: Battle against Immortals**

 **Chapter 05: Wind, Darkness and the Vampire's story**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Nasuverse (Tsukihime, Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Kaleid Liner etc. ). If I did, Illya would've been the fourth heroine.**

 _We are so screwed._

These were the words that went through Shirou's mind when he saw the dense prana surrounding the Vampire. The prana was dark and incredibly heavy. Shirou, who is new to thaumaturgy and who could barely sense prana, could feel being pushed down by it.

If Shirou thought Calhin was dangerous before, now he found him downright terrifying.

Calhin lifted his cowboy hat a bit and looked at them. His eyes hollow, dark and Shirou could feel the power radiating from those eyes. He turned towards Lorelei who, however, didn't seem fazed.

"Oh," Calhin expressed his surprise. "You are able to withstand my prana pressure? Impressive. Well, you are a Barthomeleoi but even so, you didn't seem that strong in our previous encounter. What brought about the sudden strength?"

Although Lorelei was still hurt after Kirei's assault on him with his, she remained unfazed in front of Calhin.

She shook her head sideways.

"I have always been strong. Far stronger than you could imagine," Lorelei started. "However, I let my emotions get the better of me. Against you the first time, against the priest- I was hasty, I forgot my strength and just blasted prana to beat you. The end result was- two subsequent defeats at the hands of two beings inferior to me. "

Lorelei gritted her teeth. She was angry, angry at herself. She wanted vengeance on Calhin, but she let her emotions get to her. She was blinded by rage, she was hasty and she messed up twice.

She now turned to Shirou. Her eyes reflecting regret, sadness. Shirou's eyes widened.

"And … because I messed up- a green Lad had to save me from death. Risking his own body and life in the process. "

Her lips quivered. Shirou had saved her again. She let Kotomine surprise her and take her out. While she was knocked out, Shirou gave his all and almost lost his life-fighting Kotomine- just to save her.

It was the same thing when they met for the first time. Shirou risked his life to save her from Calhin.

He was weak. He was naïve. Yet, he put his life on the line to save her. Lorelei could only feel ashamed.

She was supposed to be protecting him yet she was the one who got protected.

She turned away from Shirou to glare at Calhin.

"I … am tired of being saved because of my own foolishness. I've realized my mistakes and now I'm going to repent for it by annihilating you. Stanrobe Calhin, get read. You will now face the true power of Lorelei Barthomeloi," Lorelei said with finality. Her tone was resolute.

At that moment, both Shirou and Calhin felt a massive rise in prana from her.

This is getting dangerous.

Calhin readied his gun. Lorelei's prana level was increasing exponentially.

I need to end this now.

Clahin pointed the gun at Shirou and Lorelei. Prana accumulated in its tip forming a black sphere of darkness.

 **Schwarze Zerstörung.**

A blast of darkness was sent hurling at Lorelei and Shirou's way.

Shirou's eyes widened at the intensity of that attack. It was stronger than the previous time he had seen it. This time if this hits- they're done.

Shirou tried moving his body but found himself unable to. Kotomine had done a number on him. His body was like jelly, hurting all over plus his wounds were still fresh. Lorelei had stopped the bleeding with a spell but she did say she wasn't proficient in Medical Thaumaturgy.

Speaking of Lorelei…

She stood unfazed, continuing to build her prana which was almost as large as Calhin's but despite that being the case if she got hit with that, even she'd be toast.

"Lorelei, get out of the way," Shirou yelled. "You're gonna get killed if you get hit by that." Seeing that Lorelei unperturbed by his yell, Shirou was freaking out. She didn't seem to register what she was saying and just stood there building up her prana.

"LORELEI!" Shirou yelled.

Come on! We're gonna die at this rate.

Shirou stared at the darkness, waiting for it to hit and finish them off. There was no way they could dodge that now.

"Don't worry."

Shirou turned to Lorelei, who finally decided to respond to him. She turned towards him and smiled.

A genuine smile. Like the one, she smiled when Shirou told her he was going to help her defeat Calhin.

"I'll protect you this time."

Her voice was angelic. Shirou was captivated.

Lorelei was beautiful, he understood it when he met her 4 days back. She was really beautiful.

But… but now… her beauty was divine. Shirou felt like he had seen the prettiest girl in all of creation.

Angel.

However, it seemed fate had to drive Shirou out of his musings as the blast of darkness hit them. A loud explosion of dark prana encompassing the area.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oh, she didn't even try to dodge?" Calhin muttered surprised. After her whole speech of understanding her mistakes, she took the spell head on like an idiot.

No matter how strong of a defensive spell she might've had- there was no way she could defend that.

 _Well… I guess kids will be kids. Brash, reckless and stupid._

He looked at the cloud of smoke where his spell hit the Barthomeloi and the Auburn headed boy.

"Is that it?"

Calhin stared wide eye at the spot of the explosion as the smoke cleared.

The darkness from Schwarze Zerstörung had formed a spherical structure around the master-student, spiraling like a miniature storm.

"Wha… how did you do that?" Calhin asked incredulously. There was no way in hell she could've stopped that attack. But she managed to. Calhin didn't understand.

"I am Barthomeloi Lorelei. The prodigal mage that appears once in a millennium, the Queen of the Clocktower, the to-be wizard Marshall, the strongest mage of this era- do you think this attack would be enough to defeat me?" Lorelei told him off in a condescending tone.

Calhin wasn't one to get riled up from her sharp jabs but he was curious as to how she did that. Even Kishur Zeltrech Von Schweinorg wouldn't be able to come out unscathed.

There was no defensive spell that could stop that attack. Then how…

Maybe… she didn't use a defensive spell?

His eyes widened in realization.

"You… you used the Wind to redirect its direction?"

Lorelei smirked. "It seems you aren't an idiot. Yes, you are right. My element: Wind- I used it to redirect your technique. The principle is simple really- just redirect your magic using air currents. I don't understand why others never thought about this. You don't need defensive magic to defend this, although a defensive spell wouldn't be able to stop it anyway," she mused.

"Why others never thought about it? HAHAHAHAHA! That's rich!" Clahin was laughing his heart out. He couldn't believe she said that. Of course, no one can pull that off.

"The control needed to manipulate the air currents and the amount of prana needed to make sure they aren't obliterated by the heavy dark prana is borderline Wizard Marshall level, if not higher. Besides, you need to make sure you don't get destroyed by your own air currents! HAHAHA! This is hilarious. "

Calhin's laughter stopped as he wiped a tear from his eyes. Laughing hurt his stomach. Sigh. He hasn't laughed like this in a long time.

"You really are something Barthomeleoi Lorelei. "

Shirou didn't understand what was happening. One moment he saw a massive blast of darkness hurling at them, the next moment he was fantasizing about Lorelei (*blush *), then they got hit by the blast. He thought he was going to die only to find out nothing happened as the darkness was spiraling around with them at the center and now Calhin was laughing his ass off.

"W-what's h-happening?" Shirou struggled to ask. Everything was surreal. Even more surreal than their first encounter.

Lorelei smirked. The Spiralling dark magic as her wind currents redirected the magic to the nearby empty space.

Bang.

A massive explosion occurred as the earth shook.

Shirou's eyes almost popped out of eyes.

 _Unbelievable . . . I-it was that p-powerful . . ._

He turned his head towards Lorelei who was smirking.

 _She i-is r-really powerful. . ._

Shirou gulped. Now that he thought about it, the number of times he made her mad- she could've really slaughtered him like a cockroach. Well, he knew that but the realization sank in just now.

 _I should never, NEVER, make her angry._

"Don't worry, Shirou. Didn't I say I'll protect you this time?" Lorelei assured Shirou. She turned to Calhin who seemed to be trying to recover from his laughing fit.

"Calhin."

She glared at him venomously. Calhin turned towards her again, a smile plastered to his face.

"Why did you kill my brother? Why did you kill Laurel Barthomeloi?"

Calhin just stared at her with a smile for a moment. His eyes glinted in amusement for a second but that quickly disappeared.

"I didn't kill your brother. You are mistaken. "

A massive amount of prana flared up around Lorelei.

"Do not lie, vampire scum! I witnessed it with my own two eyes, you were standing above my brother- your hands covered with blood while h-he lay on the g-ground, b-bleed. . . " She choked at the end, her eyes moistened.

Lorelei shook her head.

She refused to cry. She was a Barthemeloi.

Shirou was visibly saddened at Lorelei's antics. He wanted to help Lorelei but they were in a battle and they had no time for comfort. But seeing Lorelei so fragile- made his heartbreak.

Calhin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He never expected the Barthomeloi girl to act like an ordinary girl, now of all times. He had plenty of experience with crying women, but well Barthomeloi's shift from 'Badass Magus' to 'Almost to tears' caught him off-guard.

"u-uh d-don't cry, little missy," Calhin awkwardly said.

Lorelei rubbed her eyes vehemently, glaring at him.

"I-I'm n-not crying, " she declared, her fluffy eyes betraying her.

 _Could've fooled me._

Calhin deadpanned at her.

 _Lorelei. . . I knew she was a tsundere but isn't this shift a bit too much? Although, she was cute. . ._

Shirou thought to himself. He should just keep quiet.

Clahin sighed exasperatedly. Man, kids were troublesome.

" Look, " Calhin started. "I'm not lying. I did not kill your brother. "

"It was what he wanted. "

Calhin just smirked to himself seeing the shocked faces of the two 'children' before him.

Lorelei and Shirou were surprised, no, surprised would be an understatement. What Calhin said was mind-boggling.

"W-what? " Lorelei struggled to speak.

"W-what the hell do you mean?!" Lorelei screamed, enraged. Her brother wanted to die, by this vampires hands- what the hell was he talking about.

"I meant what I said. He wanted to be killed by me. " Calhin told her. He caressed his guns, a bored look plastered to his face.

Lorelei lowered her head. Her eyes filled with pure unadulterated rage.

 _What?_

Before Calhin realized it, he was surrounded by a spherical barrier of wind. The wind was spiraling with speed that normally would not.

 **Äther: Kugel**

Lorelei's hand had a magic circle on it. A very large one in fact.

Calhin was once more shocked at her thaumaturgy and prana. It was. . . unreal. A human, possessing such power- unthinkable.

 **Äther: Kompression**

Calhin felt the wind push towards him from either side. The sphere was decreasing in radius, the air currents started to compress. The spiraling of the wind caused cuts and bruises to appear all over his body.

Calhin created barriers of darkness around him but they were shredded apart by the wind.

What power.

Calhin grimaced in pain. The cuts were getting deeper and their numbers continued to perpetuate.

At this rate, I'll be shredded to bits.

Deciding that staying here any longer would be dangerous, he decided to do something that he never expected he would have to.

He decided to use his strongest spell.

Dammit. Guess I have no choice.

Closing his eyes, Calhin concentrated a large amount of prana in his hands and made a small cylindrical structure. A pitch black cylinder made of highly condensed prana.

The winds were closing down on him. He was moments away from getting chopped limb my limb.

He opened his eyes, a few moments later. His eyes displayed a small magic circle within them.

 **Babel Tower.**

All on a sudden, a tower of darkness arose from the small cylinder, a large tower that reached the stars piercing the sky.

The wind barrier had been ripped apart by the raw power.

In the middle of Fuyuki city, people could see a large black tower rising to heaven.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Mama, what is that? " A small child asked her mother. The child was a small girl- 3 or 4 years old who held her mother's hand, staring towards the tower reaching the skies.

"I don't know- maybe they are shooting for a movie?" Her mother told her. The sight of something surreal befuddled her. A giant black tower- it probably is a movie shoot.

Then there was that weird earthquake a while ago.

Today was certainly weird.

As the mother-daughter duo left for their destination, just like a whole lot of people who thought that it was a movie shoot, the mages within the city realized that a big fight was brewing.

A boy, 18-19 years old, sat on a wooden bench, stopped skimming through his book as he saw the tower.

He closed his book and smiled to himself. With his left hand, he pushed back his unkempt hair and put his glasses in his pocket.

"What a fun day, " he told to himself.

"Time for some vampire extermination. "

Shiki Tohno slowly walked towards the direction of the black tower. He didn't expect to fight a vampire but he had felt a tremendous desire for bloodshed all day. His instincts, apparently, were always correct.

No wonder he was horny.

There were vampires to kill.

How fun.

Smiling to himself like a child, Shiki Tohno headed merrily towards the black tower.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lorelei and Shirou gawked at the pitch black tower in front of them. Well, in Lorelei's case, she was glaring at the tower with loathing while Shirou's jaws were hanging.

T-that's c-crazy. . .

A few seconds went by as the darkness gradually dissipated. In the middle of the formerly dense tower of darkness stood Calhin- cuts and bruises all over his body, profusely bleeding and it seemed like his skin was charred a bit.

"Well, well. . . were you holding back really hard when we fought last time? I mean, this is crazy-, " Calhin coughed out some blood.

"If you were this strong, why didn't you use this power when we fought before?"

Lorelei continued to glare at him.

To be frank, even she didn't know, she had so much power. Her power suddenly flared up during her battle with Calhin.

Shirou too had been thinking about it. The fight is pretty one-sided, Lorelei was destroying Calhin- if she was this strong, why was she losing to him previously?

That didn't make any sense.

"I probably won't be able to defeat you, " Calhin declared. He rubbed his injuries- they hurt like hell and his prana reserves while still huge, were too much for his injured body to handle.

"I know, " Lorelei told him. "That is why I will now kill you. "

Calhin sighed. She was stubborn. He did try and explain to her that he didn't kill her brother but she was too stubborn to disbelieve what she saw with her eyes.

We live in a world of magecraft sheesh. Anything could happen.

Calhin internally grumbled to himself about stupid brats.

Shirou, however, was feeling uncomfortable by the idea of killing this man. He was a pacifist and while he did promise he would help Lorelei with her revenge, now that it's down to it- Shirou found it hard to stay quiet when someone is about to be killed.

Even if it was a Vampire.

And besides. . .

Shirou turned to Lorelei and frowned. Was Lorelei really okay with killing him like that? I mean, she'll never get closure unless she hears the entire story. She'll kill him and then she'll spend her days tormented by the fact that she couldn't save her brother.

"Hey Lorelei, maybe we should hear him out?"

Lorelei's gaze turned sharply to glare at Shirou.

"What the hell are you saying? Are you asking me to listen to the confession of a murderer? This thing killed my brother and I'll be damned if I let it smooth talk me out of revenge, " she spat out viciously.

Lorelei couldn't believe it. Shirou was supposed to be on HER side. He had promised to help her kill the vampire. So, why is he hesitating now?

"But will you truly find happiness by killing him? " Shirou asked her. His voice serious, his gaze sharper than a hawk's.

Lorelei flinched at Shirou's stare. It was as if he saw right through her. She had never seen Shirou look like this. Sure, he was serious at times when he was all resolute and confidence but there were little times when he looked so perceptive.

Lorelei honestly didn't know what to do. Will killing Calhin bring her happiness? Will she truly find closure? Will she truly avenge her brother's death?

What if in the off-chance Calhin was telling the truth and he didn't kill her brother?

What if her brother wanted this?

Lorelei violently shook her head at the thought. No, that was not possible. Her brother was a Bathemeloi, proud and strong. He lived a life in luxury and praises, he received the admiration and adoration of all. He, just like others of the Barthemeloi, was successful magi.

He had no reason to kill himself.

Yes.

This vampire was lying.

" SHUT UP! " Lorelei yelled.

Shirou flinched at her yell. Lorelei got angry but she hardly yelled.

"What do you know about me huh? Saying I won't find closure, saying killing him won't avenge my brother? Don't act like you know me! We've known each other for only a week. Don't act like you understand everything! "

Lorelei was yelling near the end of her speech.

She was usually level headed. Her level-headedness is what made her the strongest wizard of this era. She was always calm, cool, collected- she never threw temper tantrums.

Here, she was yelling like an emotional fool.

But she couldn't stop.

For the first time in her life, she couldn't control her emotions at all.

" Do you realize what he is implying?! Do you?! If what he said is true, then it means my brother. . . he. . . killed himself. " The last part came out almost like a whisper.

Lorelei's eyes had tears in their corners, ready to spill forth any time.

In her 24 year life, this was the first time she felt so vulnerable. Never had she wanted to cry and wail so much?

Her brother was her important family and he was taken away from her.

Her student whom she thought would always be siding with her now is double guessing.

Finally, she herself was having double thoughts about killing Calhin.

It was too much for her. The emotions came out gushing as tears.

As tears dripped down her cheeks, she realized she had started crying. She was about to rub her tears away when she suddenly felt someone hugging her.

It was Shirou.

" I'm sorry, " Shirou tightened his hug. He felt like a total ass now. He was high on his ideas without even considering Lorelei's feelings. She must've been devastated by her brother's death, she must've been struggling with so many uncontrolled emotions all this time. She wanted to kill Calhin because she did not know what else to do.

Her brother's death had ruined her world.

 _I really am a jerk. Forcing my pacifying ideals on a person who had lost their loved ones. . . I really suck._

But Shirou also understood this. If she killed Calhin without learning the death of her brother, she'll never find salvation.

She'll be consumed by the darkness of hate and loathing.

And regret.

" I'm sorry, " he whispered to her again.

Lorelei tried to free herself from Shirou, but she found herself devoid of any strength. It seemed all the energy she had when she was fighting Calhin quickly vanished into thin air. Tears rolled down her eyes as she silently wept in Shirou's arms.

Shirou gently rubbed her back trying to comfort her.

Calhin looked at the scene in front of him and smiled. Ah, young love. He remembered the days of his youth when he would go around on dates with his first love.

Young love was beautiful.

But he, now, felt like a major piece of shit.

Man, he had made this girl cry twice today. It seemed even if she was like those cold-hearted Barthemeloi bastards, she was still a young woman.

She isn't an emotionless vampire hunter but a dangerous vampire hunter with feelings.

Sigh, he was a failure of a man.

" Hey, " Calhin tried to grab Shirou and Lorelei's attention. Both of them turned towards him, Lorelei still glaring, albeit, with her eyes all puffy and teary, it didn't really look threatening.

" Look, I'm sorry really for making you cry like this but little lady, I didn't kill your brother. "

Lorelei's face twisted with anger. She was just about to lash out at him when she felt Shirou's arms around her tightened.

" Please, just listen to him. If you want to kill him later, I won't stop you. But for now listen to him, " Shirou whispered in her ears.

Lorelei shivered at Shirou's breath coming into contact with her ears. Her legs suddenly felt like jelly, she'd all but lost her strength. It seems her psychological weaknesses have affected her thaumaturgy. How pathetic.

How shameful for a Barthemeloi to become so weak.

However, she didn't have any strength left to protest.

She just nodded silently.

Shirou just smiled at her. He then turned to Calhin, motioning him to continue.

Calhin silently thanked Shirou in his mind. It seemed the guy was a genius when it came to handling women.

 _Probably a Casanova. . ._

" Thank you. I'll tell you my story. About what happened. About Laurel Barthemeloi and Me. "

Calhin took a deep breath.

" After listening to my story, if you still find it worth your time killing me- please go ahead. I won't even try to defend myself, not that I can, " Calhin chuckled sheepishly.

Lorelei was not in a mood for jokes as she glared at him to start.

 _Ara. . . so impatient._

Calhin took one final breath of air and released it.

" My story begins 500 years ago in Fuyuki Church as a child born from a forbidden love borne between a priest and a nun, a brother and a sister. . . "

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **And cut.**

 **That wraps up chapter 5. Well, it's been some time since I uploaded a chapter and while I found writing the chapter enjoyable I'm not too proud of it. But oh well. As you saw the battle between Lorelei and Calhin took place and well Calhin got butchered, like quite literally. The reason behind Lorelei's power up and why she powered up so quickly- will be explained in the next chapter, along with Calhin's past and Laurel and Calhin's connection.**

 **Laurel Barthemeloi is an OC of mine who is already dead which is funny but well yea he'll play a crucial part in the story as everything will be tied down to the third arc of the story which I am planning on doing and hopefully will do.**

 **About Lorelei's powerup, while it may seem like ass-pulling, you'll find out why that's not the case in the next chapter. While the reasoning isn't compelling, but a bit of Shounen crap in Seinen stuff is something I find refreshing.**

 **Regarding someone so prim and proper for Lorelei to breakdown, it's because while still, a Barthemeloi Lorelei is just a young woman at heart who admired her older brother. The death of her brother left her in a state of shock with no idea what to do other than seeking vengeance.**

 **Also, Calhin and Lorelei's techniques are all original moves I made. I used German because well English techniques sound weird to me.**

 **The next chapter will probably be the final chapter to this arc. The second arc is where the convergence with canon takes place.**

 **Finally, read and review. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Spell book:**

 **1\. Äther: Kugel (Wind: Sphere)  
Element: Wind  
User: Lorelei Barthemeloi**

 **2\. Äther: Kompression (Wind: Compression)  
Element: Wind  
User: Lorelei Barthemeloi**

 **3\. Babel Tower  
Origin: Darkness  
User: Stanrobe Calhin**


End file.
